


Haunting You

by ERERIWORLD



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Ghosts, Alternate Universe - Horror, Dark Past, I'm Bad At Tagging, I'm Going to Hell, Levi/Eren Yeager-centric, M/M, Minor Erwin Smith/Eren Yeager, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV First Person, Past Abuse, Past Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Past Character Death, Past Child Abuse, Past Levi/Erwin Smith, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-29
Updated: 2016-09-01
Packaged: 2018-06-05 04:21:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 12
Words: 26,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6688954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ERERIWORLD/pseuds/ERERIWORLD
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eren Yeager just moved into his new house with his parents. The typical happy family. Mom. Dad. Sister. But there's a catch. Five years ago a murder took place in their house. They don't believe in spirits. At least, Eren didn't until weird things happened. Eren has to figure out the mystery around Levi Ackerman's death. But, be careful what you wish for because that obsession might just be knocking on your front steps.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Our New House

**Author's Note:**

> Eren doesn't listen to scary movies, despite scary movies being mostly correct.

Chapter 1

I ran into my new home and went down to my room. It was in the basement away from my clingy sister. It wasn’t that I didn’t like her it was just that a man needed his space. We had officially moved in- mom took out the last glass from the last box a few minutes ago- and now we were here. It was a four story house. The basement, aka my room, was where the laundry room was and where my finished room was. It was huge and I had put up my trophies and posters all over the place. I had found a small diary in a box full of other stuff within a wardrobe that was left there. My mother reassured me that the murder that happened here a while ago wouldn’t lead to ghosts because there was no such things as ghosts. I’m sixteen years old. Of course I wouldn’t believe in that. I tried to tell her she didn't have to worry about me being scared, but she didn't seem convinced. So, I decided to keep the box and investigate it later. 

Despite the weird murder idea, I really liked the house. The first floor consisted of an entry way, a huge dining room, a piano room, a kitchen, a half bath and a living room. The second three bedrooms (one was being used as my mom’s office), a full bath, and a closet where we stored the cleaning supplies and towels. The attic was by far the creepiest. Rumor has it, that the owners that were murdered here would drag their kid up to the attic and keep him up there without any food or water- nearly killing him. I mean, not that I believe in the rumors, but that just made the attic the creepiest.

I collapsed on my bed and sighed. Tomorrow was the first day of school. We had moved in just in time.

My mom came down and ruffled my hair and kissed my head. “You can join us upstairs whenever you like, Eren. You don’t have to stay down here.”

“I know, mom. You only told me ten times. Don’t worry I like it down here.”

“Alright. And throw out any creepy stuff you find. Who knows the people that have lived here in the past? You know the realtors never throw out anything in the closest or anything.”

“I will, mom.” I had hidden the box under my bed, thinking she probably didn't want me to get involved in whatever happened here. I kissed her goodnight and told her I loved her before she finally left. It was getting late. I would read the diary later.

I turned off my light.

~~~

I woke up startled in the middle of the night. I quickly turned on my light and looked around. I thought I had heard someone talking. I gulped and opened my drawer to pull out my trusty flashlight. I put my feet on the cold cement before walking upstairs. “H-Hello?” I mean, I wasn’t scared. It was probably just the pipes or something. It was just an old house. Right…? When I found nothing out of the sort. I walked downstairs to my bed and flipped off my light and flashlight before going back to bed.

~~~

I woke up the next morning to the sound of my alarm, sun coming from the small windows all around my room. I turned on my light and switched off my alarm with a groan. I started my day with a hot shower upstairs and getting ready in the upstairs bathroom before joining the rest of my family in the dinning room. “Good morning.”

“Good morning.” Mom said cheerfully from the fridge, getting out eggs.

“Eren, what happened to your arm? You didn’t have that scratch there before.” Mikasa was of course the one to notice something like that.

I looked at her in confusion before looking down at my arm. There was a red scratch. I shrugged it off. “I probably just scraped it against my bed side table last night. I heard weird noises last night. Did you guys get this place checked out for mice?”

“We did too from the attic. I’m going out today to get mouse traps.” My dad said as he drank his morning coffee.

That reassured me and I got my own cup of coffee, despite my mother’s protests, and sat down at the table and ate the breakfast she made when it was done.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to take you guys into school?” My mom looked at me and my sister in concern.

“We’re fine, mom. I got a rep to build!” I rolled my eyes. “Come on, Mikasa, we’re going to be late for the bus.” I took her hand and walked her to where our shoes were. We put them on and grabbed our bags before walking out, telling our parents that we loved them.

~~~

The bus was full of assholes just like you would expect from your typical high school bus. We sat towards the front across from this couple. God, the one guy seemed like such an ass. Though the other one was a cutie. Definitely not my type though. I was into the more tough, punk kids.

“Hi. I’m Marco Bodt.” The cutie smiled at us and held out his freckled hand.

I shook it, taking in how soft and warm it was. He was so formal in the cutest way possible. “Eren Yeager.”

Mikasa took it next. “Mikasa Yeager.”

The guy that looked like a dick rolled his eyes. “Marco, I know you mean well, but you can’t just talk to anyone. I mean, what if they were dirty?”

Marco rolled his eyes. “This is Jean Kirschtein, my soon to be ex-boyfriend if he doesn’t behave.” The freckled boy sent him a glare which got Jean’s attention. He never apologized to us. Only to Marco.

This was a lovely start of the day.

~~~

First period was shit. I didn’t know where my class was and, fuck, I fell up the steps. What fucking moron does that? Not only did that happen, but the dick from the bus (I can’t remember his name) was there to witness it. Apparently he was in an honors club or some bullshit which gave him the right to loiter around the halls and be a “hall monitor” first period. I call bullshit. Eventually I did get to my English class.

Second period went a little bit more smoothly. It was gym class, so after taking attendance and explaining the rules we got to play basketball. I wasn’t a fan of basketball, but it was far better than an academic class.

Third period I had Chemistry. The teacher seemed really nice. Their name was Hanji. They basically just passed out permission slips and then showed us some cool chemistry tricks that we could do if we joined chemistry club, aka the club the cutie from the bus was in and therefore the dick from the bus was also joining. I did get the pleasure of being seated next to said cutie though, which pissed Jean off (I did catch his name again in that period when Hanji scolded him for putting his feet on the desk), but I don't think I'll give him enough respect to actually remember it.

Fourth period was pre-calculus. I’m not going to lie, I’m terrible at math. But it was either this or statistics. For some reason I thought pre-calculus seemed to be less scary. I got paired up with the smartest kid in class though. His name is Armin Arlert. He was also really cute. He wore oversized sweaters and dark skinny jeans. We did live in a cold state so I couldn’t blame him for his preference towards sweaters. Anyways, he seemed cool so we exchanged numbers and found out that we had lunch together. Apparently, he was having trouble making friends too regardless of being an upperclassman.

I walked down to lunch with Armin. He had packed a lunch, but went up in the lunch line anyways. When we sat back down at our table I asked him how his day was going and eventually we got to the topic of where I lived.

“Your parents actually wanted to live there?”

“Why? It’s just a house.”

“Where a kid was chopped up into little pieces.” Armin gasped and shook his head as if we just committed the biggest sin in the world.

“Are you kidding me? That didn’t happen.”

“They never found the bodies. None of them. They just… disappeared.”

“There was more than one murder?”

“Apparently the kid that lived there, Levi, killed his parents who abused him. The last people that lived there had a kid who was a freshman and he found out about this challenge. Apparently if you go into the attic or basement with chains you’ll see Levi’s ghost and will be chased out of the house.”

I laughed and shook my head eating a fry from my tray. “That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. You sound crazy.”

“Believe what you want but I’m not stepping a single foot in that house.”

“My room is the basement and there is nothing that has happened.”

“It’s only the first night.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. You’re ridiculous.”

By the time, sixth period rolled around I was a little more awake. Sixth period was principles of democracy. It’s one of those stupid classes that should be a semester long, but is actually all year. I had no interest in history whatsoever.

Seventh period I had with Mikasa. It was sign language. It was an easy course to take I heard, so given how it was the first day this was actually a pretty good class, despite Mikasa worrying about me the whole time.

Eighth period was health. It was really boring and I wanted to stab my eyes out with pencils.

~~~

By the time I got home, I laid out my papers from all the classes that needed parent permission for random procedures on the table for my mom to sign and went downstairs to my room. I sat on my bed and got on my laptop. I put a playlist on and reached under my bed and grabbed the box, laying everything out neatly. There was the diary, a big piece of cloth, and metal wings: one black and the other one white. I shined them with my shirt and put them back in the box carefully. They were really pretty. I jumped when they magnetized together to create overlapping wings. Were they supposed to be like… a couple’s necklace? I shrugged it off. I’ll get a chin for them later. Mom might like them. She and Mikasa were into that kind of thing. I picked up the cloth next. It was a pretty white satin that went on forever. Maybe whoever owned this box was trying to make a wedding dress? It would explain the necklaces. I put the satin back in the box and picked up the diary. It had a dark leather cover. The pages were slightly yellowed either by being in a closet or because it was around a smoker. I went to unclasp it, but found it needed a key.

I huffed and put it to the side. “Alright. Looks like I’m not reading that.” I put everything back in the box and sat it under my bed. I plopped back down on my bed and grabbed my laptop, setting it in my lap. I got on the internet and started playing games. Solitaire was a lonely man’s best friend.

~~~

When dad got home I had gotten zero things done. Not that there was much to do besides chores. I was still in that summer mood where I didn’t feel like doing anything. Also, we just moved, so I was a little tired from unpacking and having a restless night.

Dad set out the traps telling me to check them before I go to school so they didn’t stink up my room. I also helped him put them up in the attic. The attic was a big open space, or it would be if it weren’t for the mountain of boxes in there from previous owners and our own collection, with a window at the far end facing the road and neighborhood. It smelled weird up there. I left the traps in different places and walked back down the ladder again. I slid it back up and shut the door. I walked downstairs again and washed my hands in the kitchen. “Did you guys test this place for mold?”

“Are you talking about the attic?”

“Yeah.”

“Water damage happened not too long ago so it's probably still left over smell. Apparently they hadn’t been able to get the smell out after all these years no matter how long they leave the window open. They were supposed to clean out the boxes and stuff, but I guess they never cared enough. There’s probably just a dead animal in one of the boxes that’s causing it and it’s just coincidence.” My father explained and shrugged. “It’s fine.”

I shrugged it off too. If dad said it was fine, it was fine. We had dinner like any normal family and then I went downstairs to file away the papers my mom had signed for school in my backpack. I texted Armin for a while before stripping down to my boxers. I laid in my bed and looked up at the wooden ceiling. It was weird to think that people lived in the house before you. That they walked across these floors, ate food in the kitchen, played the piano, watched television with the family, and did all the things you were doing now. It was just weird to think about. It was especially weird to think about the guy that murdered his family had slept where you were sleeping. I mean, that was just weird in general.

My parents had asked Mikasa and me if we were okay with living in a house where that occurred and I said it was fine. Because it was. My whole life I grew up believing that once you were dead you were dead. Like my dog, it died and now it was in the ground in the backyard of our old house. I frowned and turned on my side. Our old house was small… but... it was home. This place was cold. I didn’t like it. Mom said it would feel like home in no time, but I don’t think so. I didn’t want to complain though. We left our old house to find a better life.

I smiled and nodded. Right. This was our house. Why was I freaking myself out? I turned to my light and switched it off after getting under the blankets. I played music from my phone so it didn’t seem so lonely down here and fell asleep. I had a pretty good night’s sleep compared to the other night. This house wasn’t going to be so bad after all. I just had to keep telling myself that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! This has been my newest fanfic that I am just dying to see everyone's reaction on. I'm trying not to make it too cliche. Also, I don't normally write this type of fanfic so if the scary events aren't scary enough I'm sorry. I'll try my best to work on it. Also, I actually edit this! So there shouldn't be too many mistakes, but if there is tell me and I'll fix them. :) Thanks for the support, I'll try to get chapters out consistently.


	2. The Diary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren goes through past owner's stuff even though scary movies tell you not to do that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the comments and kudos from chapter 1! I really appreciate it! Please, enjoy chapter 2.

Chapter 2

The next morning I was met with traps going off. So, we did have mice. I got up and took out the mice from the traps and threw them outside via my small windows. I got a chill and rubbed my arms. Damn this cold state. I got on one of my ugly Christmas sweaters I normally wouldn't wear especially since they were so ugly and Christmas was three months away. I felt sick but my blanket was on the floor so that was probably why. I went upstairs and hopped into a warm shower. I hissed when it came out really hot. I turned it down and sighed. I went about washing my body only to see a large scratch mark across my stomach. Weird.

I shrugged it off and drew the curtain back quickly. I jumped back and rubbed my eyes. That wasn’t there was it? I really didn’t see that… right? I gulped and shrugged it off. I got dried off and got out of the shower. There… seriously wasn’t a person there, right? Maybe Mikasa had just walked in without knocking and noticed I was in here so she left? It wouldn’t be the first time. But I didn’t even hear the door open. I splashed cold water on my face and shook my head. “I’m okay.” I dried off and put on my sweater and skinny jeans before walking downstairs. “Mom, you should really get me more sweaters. It’s cold as fuck in this place.”

She turned and grabbed my ear tugging on it. “Language, dear. And I’m going to the store this weekend. You can come with.”

“Alright.” I sat down and began eating my cereal. “How was your first day, Mikasa? We got sign language class together.”

“It’s not enough.”

I sighed. I knew she was bitter about that. “We couldn’t have every class together.”

“But… we could have at least have more than one class together.” She pouted and leaned away from her bowl.

“Don’t be like that, Mika.” Sometimes having an overbearing sister was a little annoying. I wish sometimes I was an only child, but other times I didn’t. Like now it was in between. I wanted to ask her something.

We got up and headed to the door getting our stuff on and going to the bus stop.

“So… Mika… have you been hearing weird things at night?”

“Not really.”

“…Have you-”

“Eren, I don’t want to talk about this. Our house is fine.” She sighed and shook her head.

“…Okay…” I muttered and looked down. The more time I spent in our house the less I wanted to be in it. I don’t know what was with it. I just got this eerie feeling.

~~~

On the bus I got in a fight with Jean again. Screw him.

English I got a book that I would look up sparks notes later on and then never read. Who even understands Shakespeare?

Gym class we ran around the gym and then played some volleyball. I loved volleyball and… maybe there was this sexy guy in class that wore too short shorts who was also checking me out. His name turned out to be Erwin Smith. Large, buff, hot. Man, I was getting a crush on him. He walked me to Chem and said hello to Marco, aka the cutie I sit next to and Jean doesn’t. Erwin ruffled my hair and left, leaving a piece of paper with his number on my desk . Man, my heart was pounding after that.

I walked to Precalc feeling a little better about today. I mean, I did get looked at by a hot guy who may or may not like me. That’s always a plus. I sat down next to Armin and he looked at me as if he could tell the difference in my mood.

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah.”

“You seem different from yesterday.”

“That’s because Erwin Smith was totally checking me out.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. He’s that really tall, blonde guy that looks like he’s worth a million bucks.”

“Oh, I think I saw him awhile ago. He’s really… strong looking.”

“Right?” I laughed and went a little dreamed eyed. Damn, I was such a school girl.

The bell rang and we quieted down, but Armin and I were looking at each other as if we had this big secret. As if we were best friends.

Lunch consisted of chicken with mash potatoes, corn, gravy, banana, salad and milk. Armin had gotten an apple instead of a banana. We ate our lunch before we started talking again.

Armin looked at me curiously and I knew what he was going to bring up before he even said anything. “So… How’s sleeping at the house?”

“There’s some creepy vibes there, but I mean, that just might be me over reacting to it. I mean, people died there so of course there’s going to be a weird feeling there.”

“I guess that’s true. I don’t understand why your parents thought it would be a good idea to move into a house that a murderer lived in.”

I hummed and looked up at the tall ceiling. “What if the killer is innocent? I mean, did they actually figure out that Levi did it?”

“Oh, yeah, he did it. His mom OD on some drugs she was on or something and then next thing the town knows is that there’s a bunch of screaming and running around and they both end up dead.”

“…Maybe the father did it.”

“The father had been stabbed twenty times.”

“Oh…” I mean, maybe this kid was just a horrible psychopath… but the box made me think otherwise. I wanted to know what happened. Maybe it was just because then I would know that I’m being stupid for being scared of a house, but I mean, what harm could it do? “Do you know anything else about it?”

“Not really. I mean… my parents wouldn’t let me know anything about it. It happened five years ago, I know that. He was an upperclassman when he did it. But that Erwin guy you’re talking to was his neighbor for a while. After the incident they moved down the street. Apparently Erwin can’t stand looking at the house.”

“…Oh…I wonder why…”

Armin looked up, fork in mouth, as he hummed before taking the fork out. “I think they were friends. I mean, as close as they could be considering one was seventeen and the other was thirteen.”

I looked down and nibbled on the last of my banana before taking our trays and throwing them away. I got my stuff and walked to Principles of Democracy.

~~~

When I got home, Mikasa and I took off our jackets and shoes and put them in the closet before walking into the kitchen where mom gave us some cookies to munch on before dinner. I went down to the basement and tripped down the steps. I caught myself and sighed. I turned on the lights and got in my bed, getting my laptop out to write a paper. My foot brushed against something. I swear to fucking god if it was a mouse I was going to flip my shit.

It didn’t feel like a mouse though. It was small and metal maybe? I reached down and grabbed it. When my hand resurfaced from the blanket a small key was in the palm. It looked old, but was still bronze. That wasn’t there before, was it? I put my laptop to the side and walked upstairs. Fuck the homework I had; this was more important.

“Who found this?” I gave my mom a questioning look when I joined her in the kitchen again.

“Hmm?” My mom looked at me before looking at the key in my hand. “I didn’t. Why? Did you lose it? Eren, I told you to be more careful with your stuff.”

I shook my head before shrugging. “Never mind. I guess I just didn’t see it.” I went back downstairs and pulled the box out from under the bed. I had looked all over for this key. But maybe in my sleep I had somehow moved it to the end of my bed? I mean it was possible. I got out the diary and unlocked it. That… That click seemed final. Like I had just opened the book to hell or something. I chuckled at my thoughts. This was so stupid. It wasn’t like this meant anything. It was just a fucking book. An old diary. Hell, it probably wasn’t even his. I flipped open the diary and was met with this cursive I could barely read. Yeah… this was definitely old. Who writes in cursive anymore? I shivered and looked up before looking back at the book. Man, this was creepy as fuck. I put a blanket over me before settling in and reading.

_8-18-10_

_School was a real pain in the ass today. I mean, the fuck is up with these teachers? What made them think they could just throw this fucking work on us? I’m a senior. Why the hell are they giving us homework the first fucking week of school? Mom, why do you think the universe fucking hates me? Anyways, so I’m doing my homework in this teacher’s class today, Mr. Zacharius. Yeah, I’m that loser that eats and does his homework in his teacher’s classroom. Okay, but this guy is cool and stuff. I don’t know. Maybe I’m just a history buff. Anyways, this teacher comes up and sniffs me. Like who the fuck does that? And not to mention he gave me this smirk when he walked away. Creepy much? God, I sound like a schoolgirl._

_So where am I right now? In the fucking attic. Kenny has fucking guests over. The bastard. Not only am I fucking locked up here, I’m in-_

I looked up and glanced around. I felt really creeped out. I don’t know if it’s just because I was looking at dead person’s diary or because there was actually something here. But no, I will not become one of those stupid people that think ghosts live. No. That’s a load of bull. I should be a man. Hell, it’s just a diary.

_Not only am I fucking locked up here, I’m in shackles. That’s right. The bastard put me in shackles and threatened to beat the shit out of me if I tried anything funny. Luckily, I snuck this and a pen in my pants. It gets really boring being up here. There’s a bunch of old shit that’s just down right filthy. I think we have mice too. I don’t want to think about how they could crawl all over me in the night without me knowing it. Fuck that. I mean, there’s just so many diseases they carry! Not to mention they’ve never even touched water!_

Who was this guy and what the hell was his problem? Seriously, who gives a fuck? It’s an animal and some dust. He had much bigger problems than that. I rolled my eyes and shook my head. “What a clean freak.”

I jumped when my laptop charger fell from my bedside table. I picked it back up made sure it hadn’t gotten loose from where it was connected in my laptop and started to read again.

_Shit, I think he’s coming up to get me dinner. I’ll write later maybe. Who knows with how his mood is._

_-L_

I closed the diary and locked it before putting the key on a string and tied it around my neck. I definitely didn’t want to lose it now that I knew that this was Levi’s diary. I don’t understand why I cared. I mean, who the hell gives a fuck what happened in the past?

But this mattered.

The door from upstairs opened and I went up to meet Dad.

“Eren, where did you take my folder with all my important documents?” He asked glaring at me.

“I don’t know. I didn’t even know you brought work home.” I shrugged and raised an eyebrow at him.

“Don’t give me that. I know how you play these stupid pranks. Like how you took the screw out of my chair at the last house.” He was getting more annoyed.

“That was my fault, but I seriously never even seen your folder.”

He let me off with an ‘alright’.

~~~

Dinner was good and so was the rest of the day that consisted of chores, homework, and family game night. At the end of the day, I tripped down the fucking steps again as I made my to my room and got to my bed. I laid down and turned off my light, sighing. I could hear mom and dad fighting from upstairs. It was normally about money or something normal spouses fight about. It wasn’t any big deal because mom and dad would never split up. At least that’s what I hoped.

I rolled onto my side and let my arm dangle off the edge. I wasn’t exactly tired, but I somehow managed to sleep. Somewhere between closing my eyes and actually falling asleep I thought I heard a small ‘good night’.

But that just had to be my imagination.


	3. A Day in the Life of Eren Yeager

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren has a normal day, despite being haunted.

Chapter 3

I was walking down the steps from my shower when I felt a hand press against my back which caused me trip down the steps in a summer salt fashion until I hit the wall. I groaned and glared behind me about to yell at Mikasa for being a horrible sister, but there was no one there. Great. I’m fucking losing my mind. I got up and walked down the steps to the basement. I had woken up early in a cold sweat from my nightmare so I had a few hours to read the diary. What else could you possibly do at the crack of dawn? I settled into my bed and opened it.

_9-25-10_

_Father hid my fucking journal in the fucking attic. I finally found it. So, yeah not much has happened in the month that I haven’t written in this. I mean, I’ve been locked in the attic or in the basement. The basement is creepy as fuck though. I hate it more than the attic. It’s going to give me frostbite for one thing. Not to mention the mice really like it down there. And then there’s the fucking water that floods in once winter hits. I hate this place. The only good thing down here is my mom’s things. I won’t say where they are because I’ll be damned if he ever gets a hold of any of them. I’ll let you know that it hasn’t always been this way. I mean, he’s always been a real dick to me, but mother is always there to take care of me after his abuse. She deserves better and she knows it. She gave me this necklace when I was little. I don’t know… when I see her wearing the other half of the wings it kinda gives me hope that it won’t always be like this. I love my mother and my mom very much. I guess you can call me a mommy’s boy. My mom gave birth to me when she was still in high school. I know stereotypical, right?_

No shit. I saw three different girls walking around school with babies in the oven. Not to hate on them or anyone in that situation, but if you’re going to have sex at least keep the kid. How can you even give your child up? Maybe I just didn’t get it because I have both parents and they didn’t have me until they were in their twenties. So, I guess I couldn’t relate.

_My father didn’t even want anything to do with me. My mom and I were really close though. She ran out of money though and her parents had disowned her. I was always mature for my age. Maybe it was because I knew that mom was always being judged, but I was the one who asked to be adopted away. She was mortified at first, but I convinced her. I know. I know. What eight year old would do that? Well, I did. She always talked to me like an adult and always treated me as one so I took the responsibility. I wanted to pay the favor of being born, I guess. I don’t know what was going through my head at the time. I don’t really remember. I was given to my uncle and in return he gave my mom stability. Apparently, his wife (my mother now) wanted a child, but he wasn’t into the whole baby thing and didn’t really want one, so he was floored when my mom asked to sell me off. It was the only way she could survive._

My hands were trembling and the mood in the air shifted to a feeling of loss. I couldn’t imagine asking my mom to give me away so she could be successful in life. Tears dripped onto the paper and I had to take a minute to wipe them away. What the hell? Why was I crying? Why did I care? It was just a diary. I rolled my eyes and glanced around the room. The silence was eerie. I’ve never been in the house when no one else was awake. I could hear the floorboards above creak and shift. I always hated when houses did that. A tree outside needed trimmed because it was scraping against a window somewhere. I gulped and turned back to the diary.

_And for the first couple months it was fine. We all lived happily. I met the kid next door. He was three and needed a playmate. I always made fun of his name because it was so official sounding. I mean, we live out in the middle of nowhere what else was I supposed to do? Play by myself? Fuck no. I needed to get out of the house. So here I was playing with little Erwin Smith. We’re at the same school now. He’s a little freshman. It’s so cute. He has yet to be with anyone… but that changed today when he asked me out. Yeah, that’s right. I am now dating my neighbor. He kinda snuck in here last night through my basement window. It’s not so bad now. He has too leave soon before Kenny wakes up. Mother said she would stall for us._

_You know that creepy teacher I told you about in the last entry? Yeah, well… a week ago he sorta kissed me after class once everyone left. Creepy right? Like the fuck? Do I have a “hit on me” sticker on or something? Joking aside, I requested to be moved to a different class. Yeah, so that’s really the big things that have happened. I’m going to go now. Erwin is waking up. He’s adorable when his hair is ruffled._

_-L_

…So, Erwin really did know Levi. I put the diary to the side and pulled out my phone putting Erwin’s phone number in my phone before sending him a text.

_To Erwin: Hey its Eren sry if I woke u I have something to ask_

I leaned back in my bed and turned my head quickly to the side, startled. I thought I saw someone. Must have just been my eyes playing tricks on me. I jumped a little when my phone vibrated. Damn… I wasn’t expect him to be awake.

_From Erwin: What is it?_

I took a deep breath and typed back.

_To Erwin: U knew Levi right_

_From Erwin: I don’t want to talk about him._

I bit my lip and pressed a little more.

_To Erwin: SFA but I live in his house & weird things are happening and yeah I just wanted to know if he was a bad person_

_From Erwin: He wasn’t. Levi was the greatest friend I could ever ask for._

_To Erwin: Even now_

_From Erwin: Even now. His uncle deserved it._

_To Erwin: For locking him up_

_From Erwin: How do you know this?_

Do I tell him about the diary? I was getting really weirded out by the atmosphere. It had changed to a longing feeling. Like there was something here trying to get to me. I pulled my blankets closer to me.

_To Erwin: Ive been reading his diary l8ly_

_From Erwin: Burn it._

_To Erwin: Ummm…Wat_

_From Erwin: Burn everything that you found. Let him rest in peace. He deserves that much._

_To Erwin: Y burn it_

_From Erwin: Why do you care? Just burn it. He has nothing to do with you and shouldn’t._

Why did I care? It was just some random junk. I should have thrown it away the moment I found it. But… I glanced over at the diary. I wanted to know. I wanted to know what drove him to kill his father...er...uncle. If locking him up wasn’t the reason then what was?

_To Erwin: Y did he do it_

_From Erwin: No one was there that night. I have no idea._

_To Erwin: Dont you want to no_

_From Erwin: No. No, I don’t want to know. Whatever it was, it was bad. I don’t want to know anything about that night. And you shouldn’t either._

_To Erwin: Y not_

_From Erwin: Because Levi was a gentle person. He wouldn’t even kill the fish I caught from fishing, yet alone a human being. Whatever drove him to do that was a very ugly and hateful thing that I don’t want to know about. Now, if you excuse me, I need to get ready for school. Please don’t bring this up again. I won’t return to that house either._

I knew I shouldn’t. But… I had to ask one final question.

_To Erwin: Y because u no hes still here_

It was a long time before he replied. Actually it was when I was on the bus that he texted me back.

_From Erwin: -Leave-._

I gulped and stared at the text. What the fuck did that mean? Ghosts weren’t real. Why the fuck was he getting so freaked out? What made him move? It didn’t make sense. Nothing was in the house. My parents and Mikasa weren’t freaked out, so why should I be?

_To Erwin: Wat made u move_

_From Erwin: I don’t want to talk about this, Eren. You need to leave._

I got to the school and walked in before going to English. I tripped up the fucking steps again and, of course, horseface was there but whatever. I didn’t care. Erwin had me freaked out. I don’t even understand why he moved. If he won’t tell me why he did, why should I?

English I was given the role of Macbeth. I really had no idea what the fuck I said all period, but I acted it out anyways.

When I got to the locker room for gym, Erwin pulled me away and pinned me against the wall. My heart was bursting in my chest as I stared up at him. Stupid crush.

“Don’t stay in that house, Eren. I swear you will regret it.”

“Why did you move?”

Erwin sighed and shook his head. “I’m not answering that, Eren.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s none of your business.”

I let out a sigh and nodded. “Fine.”

He let me go when the bell rang and raced off to the gym room. I got dressed and followed after him. We did a lap together, him going a lot slower so I could keep up and then we did some yoga. Well, he did yoga. I tried to not lose my balance because we all know how horrible I am with balance.

We then got in a huge circle and he counted for us what we had to do. I was a sweaty mess and out of breath by the end of it. I wasn’t exactly fit and we had to do like three sets of everything. It was the most ridiculous gym class I’ve ever had, but in the locker room he bought me a water bottle from the machine and rubbed my sore muscles.

“I go running in the morning. You should join me. It will really get you more active and able to do a simple gym class.”

Was he belittling me? That bastard. I looked back at him and huffed. “That was not a simple gym class.”

“Yes, it was.”

“I call bullshit on you, Mr. Smith.”

He smiled and pulled me close tickling my sides. “You do, hmm?”

I laughed and pushed him away gently. “Stop.”

“Well, shall I carry your things to Chem? Or maybe to English class considering you can’t text a simple sentence without spelling and punctuation errors.” He snickered at me. Fuck, his laugh was hot. Everything about him was hot.

“Y-Yeah.”

He walked me to Chem and I was blessed when Marco actually explained the lab and made sure I understood everything. He was such a fucking angel. I could see why Jean was jealous I got him for a lab partner.

I walked to Precalc and was blessed once again with a cutie (Armin) that knew what he was doing and could explain it to an idiot like me.

At lunch, I ate a peanut butter and grape jelly sandwich with some juice and cookies courtesy of Armin, who made me a lunch because today was mystery meat day.

Principles of Democracy was boring as hell and I ended up falling asleep. I hadn’t realized that at night I was having fitful sleeps instead of actually sleeping. My nap actually made me feel better about today.

Sign Language with Mikasa cramped up my hands, but she helped me write sentences over our words. She then bothered me until I told her who I was texting, which was Erwin, and then asked him to come over. He politely declined and requested that we all come to his house for dinner sometime. We planned it for tomorrow.

Health was a bullshit class, but wasn’t too bad. We started learning today, so it wasn’t too bad. Overall, it wasn’t a bad day.

~~~

When I got home I realized mom wasn’t there courtesy of a note left on the kitchen table telling me she went to the store. Mikasa went to Annie’s for a project and dad wouldn’t be home until late. The house was completely quiet and completely creepy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I'm glad you are all enjoying it! I love reading all the comments too. *tear* *tear*


	4. P-A-P-E-R

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren uses an ouija board incorrectly despite movies telling him to say goodbye to the ouija board.

Chapter 4

I went down to the basement, practically running down the steps. I felt like someone was watching me. It was impossible, and I knew I was being completely ridiculous, but… it was creepy. I sat down on my bed and started playing music in the background. Music always calmed me down. I got out the diary and texted Erwin.

_To Erwin: U no my parents will want u 2 come over eventually_

I turned to the diary and gulped opening the page. Okay, it wasn’t so bad.

_9-30-10_

_Omg. Fucking hell. I just lost my virginity. That’s right I just lost it. And omg… damn was it hot. So, I’m over at Erwin’s place. His parents, bless their souls, were out tonight and one thing led to another and… omg. It was fucking fantastic. I feel like I could fucking fly right now. He’s asleep write now holding me. My back is against him and he has really strong arms. Wow, I can’t even think straight. He smells good. The sweat and come on me is completely gross though. We’ll need to shower. I don’t really care though. I don’t want to go home. I don’t want to leave this. His house is like… fuck… it’s perfect. It-_

My phone vibrated.

_From Erwin: I can’t go over there, Eren._

_To Erwin: I get that… I just was warning u can u tell me more about Levi_

_From Erwin: Drop it._

_To Erwin: But I really want to no Like wat if hes here_

I went back to reading the diary.

_It was three days the last time I got out of the basement. Kenny sealed off the windows so I couldn’t escape. He even set the dogs out so Erwin wouldn’t sneak in. I fucking missed him. I needed this. Omg… I can’t believe he’s really right here with me. He’s like fucking Jesus right now. I hate the basement. It was so cold. He would come down and beat the shit out of me too. I wouldn’t let Erwin take off my shirt during our first time. I couldn’t handle him seeing what I went through. He doesn’t know anything. I don’t want him to know. He’ll tell me to leave or call the cops and I honestly would… but… Dad really would go crazy._

I glanced at my phone.

_From Erwin: Eren. The only reason why he’s there is if you still haven’t burned his stuff. Let. Him. Go._

_To Erwin: how would u no_

_From Erwin: You want to know why I moved? Because I went back into that house as soon as I could. And what I found was hell. I didn’t know what you’re probably rudely finding out now. You’re digging up shit you don’t belong in, Eren. I went in there and saw how it was before the retailers cleaned it up and remodeled it. You talk about a trashed house. And not to mentio_

_From Erwin: n the basement. There’s probably still claw marks on the floors if they didn’t cover it. I had always thought Levi’s room was the basement. It wasn’t. But that’s where I found the diary and all that was left in that box. And then I saw him. He stood there looking at me with so much pain and hurt and there was blood all over him and he just stood there. B_

_From Erwin: ecause I had dug up things I shouldn’t have. I was so shocked that I dropped everything and ran out of there. I haven’t been back since. And I never plan to._

I was shivering now so I got under the blankets and looked at the text. I shouldn’t have pushed for it. I went to reply when I was jerked off the bed. I yelped when I hit the floor. What the fuck?! I was being dragged. I went to grab anything, but I didn’t have the strength. I was being taken up the steps. I started to scream and I clung to the walls more. I tried furniture and different objects. I was crying. I tried to get away. I tried to thrash around. Nothing was working. Then it stopped. I was on the second floor and scrambled away when the attic steps came crashing down to the floor. My heart was racing.

No. Fuck that.

I quickly got up and went to run down the steps when something pushed me back. I collided with the steps and groaned. I held my head and went to run again when I was pulled up. I tried to grab onto each step to stop it, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t get the grip strength. And then I was in the attic. The ladder went up and I was left in the dark. I panted and stumbled back into the random shit that was still up there. I went to the door and tried to push it down, but it wouldn’t budge.

“Fine. Fuck you too.” I growled and went and grabbed a piece of paper and a marker. Fuck it. I was pissed. I was scared, but mostly pissed. “You want to fucking tell me something then you fucking go ahead.” I draw the alphabet across it, a moon in the right hand corner with a ‘no’ and a sun in the other with a ‘yes’. I wrote goodbye at the bottom and then searched around for a while before finding a shot glass. I put that on the paper and circled it a couple times. This was so fucking stupid. What the hell? I started with the most basic of questions. “Who the fuck are you?”

No answer.

I huffed. “I know you’re fucking here so fucking answer. You wanted me up here so why did you bring me here?”

_P-A-P-E-R._

“Look I already have your diary. It’s fine, Levi. I get it. I’ll leave it alone. Whatever. Can you let me out?”

_No._

“Great. Thanks, man. Why can’t you?”

_P-A-P-E-R._

“What paper?” I asked my hands trembling. I felt sick. What the hell was I doing? There was a clatter scaring the shit out of me. I turned right when a newspaper landed next to me. “What is this?” I opened it to see newspaper clippings and pictures of the accident.

_February 23rd, 2011, a man and teenager was found in a pool of blood on their kitchen floor. The man, Kenny Ackerman, was stabbed twenty times while his son, Levi Ackerman, was stabbed and his testicles removed. Erwin Smith, the neighbor and Levi’s boyfriend, had nothing to say about the crime except that he wasn’t around when the crime took place. No one will ever know what happened, but we can only assume that the Ackerman’s son tried to take over the business and tried to kill his father._

I gulped and turned back to the paper on the ground, putting my hand on the glass again. “…Why did you do it?”

There was no answer.

The ladder fell down the same moment something hit the back of my head.

~~~

I groaned and sat up rubbing my eyes. I opened my eyes and looked around. I was in my room, diary still out.

“Eren? Are you down there?” Mom asked from up the steps.

“Umm…Yeah!” I called back and stood up. Had… that really happened? Or had I just dreamed it? And if so… when did I fall asleep? I walked upstairs and smiled at my mom. I hugged her and began to help her bring groceries in. Whatever. It didn’t matter. I’m done. I’ll burn everything tonight when my parents were asleep.

“What are we having for dinner?” I asked her when my stomach rumbled. Damn I was hungry.

“Hmmm… well, we can order pizza since it is Friday or I can make us spaghetti with bread sticks.”

“Spaghetti.” Honestly, I’d probably eat more bread sticks than spaghetti, but it was still my favorite meal. I was always a fan of bread. Whether it was an after school snack of bread with butter on it or dinner rolls or for dessert. Bread was my favorite food. My mom didn’t mind as long as I ate two pieces out of the loaf at a time so we wouldn’t wind up with an odd even of slices and have no way to make sandwiches. My phone vibrated in my back pocket.

_From Erwin: Are you okay? You haven’t replied for a while..._

Shit… I must have worried him with the weird conversation we were having.

_To Erwin: Yeah Im fine srry I accidentally fell asleep I guess that crazy gym class rly wore me out xD_

Though, I felt exhausted. I felt completely drained and that I could sleep for a whole year and still feel tired. I started to help mom with dinner. Dad would be home soon. I would stop periodically to text Erwin back.

_From Erwin: Oh, good. Given the conversation we were having I thought something bad happened._

_To Erwin: Nope icr when I fell asleep though 9.9_

_From Erwin: Happens all the time. Don’t worry about it. That’s a cute face, by the way._

_To Erwin: I bet I could send u a cuter one ;)_

_From Erwin: I bet you could. Please no nudes though. I don’t want to go to jail._

_To Erwin: :O I AM NOT JAILBAIT_

Erwin was making me feel a lot better about the situation. I must have just fallen asleep. I just had a bad dream. I shrugged it off and sat down for dinner. Dad was home and the bread was delicious. I love mom’s cooking.

_From Erwin: Possibly could be._

_To Erwin: fu_

_From Erwin: I believe I would be on top._

Never mind. He was pissing me off. I put my phone away and start munching on bread.

“Eren, at least eat some of the spaghetti.” Mom chuckled at me before switching the topic, “How was school?”

“It wasn’t too bad. I have a friend and I’ve been texting Erwin. I’m sorry he won’t come over here… he sorta dated the kid that lived here and he doesn’t want to be here again.” I tried to explain. I knew my parents wanted to meet him, but I was not about to argue with Erwin anymore today about the issue.

“Oh, dear. I’m sorry. We didn’t know.” My mom said in worry. “Is he alright? I mean… to have someone close to you die like that on you. It must have been horrible.”

“Yeah, he’s fine. He just doesn’t want to be here. Memories I guess.” I tried to play it off. If my family wasn’t going to be scared, than neither was I.

“I can understand that. Well, tomorrow will certainly be a good time at their place. Find out his address, Eren.” Dad said. He didn’t completely approve of my romantic interests, but I think once he saw Erwin the fact that he was a guy would fly right out the window.

“I will.” I nodded and excused myself from the table when I was done eating. I washed my dishes and then went back down to the basement. I sat down and hummed. Well… might as well finish the diary entry I was on.

_I don’t want him to know. He’ll tell me to leave or call the cops and I honestly would… but… Dad really would go crazy. I can handle this for a few more months. I know I can. As long as I still have Erwin. As long as I can get this break of just enjoying him, I could get through anything. He’s the most perfect thing I could ever ask for. He was a freshman and yet… I felt like I was the child in the relationship. It was nice not pretending to be something I wasn’t around him. I may have my secrets, but I know he would be there for me if I ever did tell him. He doesn’t try to change me, even if my cleaning habits bug him sometimes. My awkward social skills don’t seem to throw him off either. He orders for me when we go out on a date to a restaurant. Not that I couldn’t do that myself, but I hated when the waitress would ask you a bunch of questions so they can get your meal perfect. I’m glad… that he knows me well enough to be able to do that._

_I’m glad he’s my first too. I don’t think I could have been any more comfortable going into that. He was so gentle and caring. He got me through the painful parts and… he said he loved me. It was so nice. I felt like I was in a cloud. I felt complete. I could go on for hours about him. But, sadly, I don’t think I have that time. I can feel him waking up now. He’s probably being disturb by my writing. I always carry this with me and not once has he ever tried to read it. I’m glad about that. I didn’t know I could trust anyone this much. I’ll stop writing now. I want to sleep too and cuddle him. Not that I like cuddles._

_-L_

It’s weird to think about how this person was the same person that stabbed his father twenty times. I close the diary and goof off on the internet.

~~~

That night, I couldn’t bring myself to burn his stuff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I really enjoyed writing this chapter in particular. Sorry for the late update my work has been taking up so much time! Thanks for the comments, kudos, and love. Also, under no circumstances should anyone ever use an Ouija board they're dangerous and honestly, it's not worth it, just an fyi.


	5. Mr. and Mrs. Smith

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren meets Erwin's parents and discovers more about the past.

Chapter 5

“Wait, you used an Ouija board and didn’t say goodbye to it?!” Armin shrieked, French fry hanging from his mouth.

“Armin… I don’t even know if it happened or not.” Honestly, I was exhausted. Today was going by slowly and I just wanted to get to Erwin’s house. I didn’t want to go home. I dreaded being alone in it. It was a dream… at least that’s what it seemed. “Armin… can you come home with me after school? Maybe if someone else is there nothing will happen and I’ll be able to check the attic. If the newspaper is there than it actually happened and if not then I guess I just dreamt it.”

Armin looked at me as if I was crazy, but after a while he sighed and nodded. “Alright…”

“Thank you…”

~~~

When I got home with Armin, I walked in and looked around. Everything seemed to be in its proper place. I walked down into the basement and we sat our shoes and backpacks there before we went up to the attic. I took down the stairs and looked over at Armin. “Okay… Hold the ladder? It’ll just be a moment.”

Armin nodded and carefully took the legs. “Y-Yeah… Hurry, Eren…”

I nodded and slowly made my way up the steps. Everything was dusty and nothing seemed to be out of place. I walked around and searched through different files, drawers and other random junk. Nothing was here. I slumped back in defeat and sighed. I walked back down to Armin and smiled at him. “I dreamt it.”

“Can I leave now?” Armin asked looking around.

“No… I want to try something. You know that challenge you told me about? The one with the chains?”

Armin stopped me with a glare. “Eren, don’t be stupid. This is the paranormal we’re talking about. Who may or may not have just tried to lock you up in the attic.”

“Look, I don’t think Levi is bad.”

“You know nothing about him.” Armin huffed, rolling his eyes.

I sighed and shook my head. “Fine. Okay? I won’t do it… but you have to stay with me until my parents get home. I don’t want to be here alone.”

“…Alright…”

I put up the attic stairs and we went into the living room where we watched movies.

~~~

“Thanks, Armin, I really appreciate you staying with me.” I smiled and gave him a hug.

“Stay safe, Eren.” He whispered and was out the door before I could reply. He was scared his whole visit.

I sighed and turned to my parents. “I got Erwin’s address. He lives two streets away.”

“Alright. Shall we get going?” Mom asked curiously.

“Mikasa never came home.” I said in concern. She was my beloved sister, of course I was concerned. I wished she was here. Maybe then she could see the crazy shit that’s been happening around here.

“It’s okay. She’s doing a project with a Jean fellow from school.”

I groaned when I heard the name. “What is that asshole doing with her?”

Mom pinched my ear and scolded me for my language, “He’s a gentleman. Now go get ready. You are not wearing that ugly sweater.”

“Then what should I wear?” I sighed, rolling my eyes.

“Your red button down with black pants. Fix your hair too. Also, use some of my cover up to cover up under your eyes. You look like you haven’t slept in weeks.” She lectured and pulled my ear this way and that.

I flinched and jerked away from her, “Okay, okay.” I rubbed at my ear as I went downstairs to find those clothes in my closet. I hid Levi’s stuff and then got dressed. I sighed and looked at my mirror as I tried to fix my hair. A chill ran through my body causing me to look around. “Fuck… I don’t have time for this.” I walked up the steps and yelped when I fell through one of the wooden boards. I heard mom run and two seconds later I saw her and my dad pulling me up. My leg was bloody and it was seeping through my pants.

“I’ll go get the first aid.” Dad said and walked up the steps.

Panic took over me and I quickly looked up at him, “NO! Wait! I’m okay!” I stood up on shaky legs and gritted my teeth at the pain. I didn’t want anything bad to happen to them. “Besides, we’re going to be late. Let’s just go, okay?”

They gave me weird looks, but five minutes later we were in the car.

~~~

Erwin had rushed me to the bathroom as soon as he saw my leg. “What happened?” He asked as he sprayed my leg with disinfected causing me to cringe and bite my hand trying not to kick him away.

“One of my steps just broke under my weight is all.” I shrugged and sighed when the bandage put pressure on the giant gash in my leg. “Will I live, Doctor Erwin?”

“Hmm, with a little time and care I think you will.” Erwin chuckled and leaned up, kissing me softly.

My eyes fluttered shut and I kissed him back, wrapping my arms around him. His lips were warm. Levi was right his arms are strong and he does smell amazing. I wrapped my legs around him and ran my hands through his hair. It’s really soft.

He leaned back and chuckled, blue eyes sparkling. “As much as I’m loving this, we have a dinner to attend. Shall we?”

I smiled and nodded, “Yeah.” My heart was pounding, but in the good way. I took his hand and we went downstairs to the dining room where there was the biggest dinner I’ve ever fucking seen. “Woah… this is too much.”

“Nonsense.” A man carried out a large pot and poured it into the big dish in the middle of the table. The man had light blond hair similar to Erwin’s, but he was taller but skinny rather than buff. “We love to cook. Well, I do.”

“Where’s mom?” Erwin asked sitting down at the table across from my father. “Still upstairs looking for something to wear?”

“You know it.” He laughed and sat at the head of the table. “Please, dig in. She’ll be up there for a while.”

I sat next to Erwin across from mom and looked at Erwin’s father. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, she’s just particular on what she likes to wear. She’s nervous also.” Erwin’s father waved me off and smiled at me. “Eren Yeager, right?”

“Yeah.” I nodded and glanced down at all the forks, spoons and knives. What the fuck? I glanced at Erwin to see what he had chosen to start out with. I glanced around and found the salad and put some on my plate, before glancing over at Erwin’s plate again and picked up the correct fork.

“I’m Nathaniel. And don’t worry about all the silverware. Eat however you want. Erwin went overboard. I think he was more nervous about this than any of us.”

Erwin glared over at him. “Hush, dad.”

I glanced over when I heard heels going down the stairs and I dropped my fork on my plate. Erwin’s mom was fucking beautiful. She had long blond hair with blue tents at the end. She was wearing a green fitted dress that went down to mid-thigh. She had beautiful green eyes and green fingernails, all light colors. She sat down at the other end of the table and smiled at all of us.

“Hello.”

I was gaping at her like a fish out of water. I didn’t realize it until Erwin tapped me.

“Sure you’re gay?” He playfully teased.

My face turned a bright red and I turned back to my salad, “S-Sorry.”

She laughed and ruffled my hair. “That’s okay. That’s how Erwin’s last boyfriend reacted when he saw me. Are you enjoying your salad?”

“Yeah, it’s good.” I smiled.

“Erwin has a garden outside. He grows most of our fresh food.” She smiled and turned to my parents. “So, are you okay with them together? I mean, our son asked us if he could and from the word on the street you have a lovely son.”

“Of course. I mean… it was hard hearing that we won’t have grandchildren at first, but now we’ve had enough time to adjust to it. From what I’ve seen I think Erwin is a perfect fit for Eren.” My mom laughed. “It’s sweet you even asked.”

“Well, we wouldn’t want Erwin to get blamed for something that wasn’t his fault. We’ve had… passed instances where parents think it’s Erwin fault that their child is the way they are.” Nathaniel said going about it in a cautious way. Something told me that Levi was at fault for that.

Erwin looked down at his plate and shifted in his seat. “If you excuse me for a moment.” He stood and walked to the bathroom.

When the door closed I turned to his parents. “… Did Levi’s father find out?”

They both stiffened and looked at each other. “Umm… how do you know about him?”

“… I found Levi’s diary in the basement in our house and read it.” I said looking down from my parents’ glares.

“Yes, Levi’s father found out. It was the night of the incident. Please, don’t bring him up or start asking questions around Erwin. Erwin and Levi were deeply in love. They had something that I don’t think anyone else can have. It broke Erwin when he heard what happened.” His mother said tears filling her eyes. “It broke us all. Levi was like a second son.”

“I’m sorry… I just… I was just curious…” I looked down and fiddled with my thumbs. “Not many people talk about him and since we live in the house he did it’s only natural to be curious. I’m sorry if I brought up bad memories.” My mom smiled at me and I knew I passed the considerate test. I did feel bad, don’t get me wrong, but I honestly was just wanting to know about him. Levi was like my research project.

“It’s okay, sweetie.” Erwin’s mom smiled and when Erwin came back dinner went on without problems.

~~~

On the way back I was being yelled at by my mom. “Get rid of his diary! Let him die in peace!”

“Mom, it's fine. He’s dead. I’m just curious on how his family died. What’s the problem?” I wanted to be at home and lay down. I was tired and my leg hurt. I got in my mom’s purse and pulled out ibuprofen. I took two and laid down in the back.

“Karla, he’s right. Who is he hurting?” My dad tried to calm her.

“I guess so… but don’t date Erwin just to get closer to the case, okay? If you don’t actually like him then don’t date him. Got it?” She sighed and shook her head. She was unhappy, but after I figured it out I think it will be okay.

“He has the mind of his father, Karla, admire that.” He laughed and took her hand.

She laughed and shook her head. “Of course you would say that.”

“What? Great minds are the funny ones.” He chuckled.

I smiled at their banter. It was nice seeing them this way. Occasionally I would worry about their marriage because they would fight over many different topics, but during times like these I know I don’t have to worry. Mom and dad were tight. They talked through the important stuff and fought over trivial things.

We pulled into the house and we walked up to the house. I wished them good night and went downstairs, jumping over the step that fell through. I put on some pajamas and gasped when I saw more scratch marks. What in the hell? I sighed and got in bed. I was too tired to care. I’ll figure it out tomorrow. Whatever. I sent Erwin a good night message and curled up in bed.

~~~

I woke up in the middle of the night hearing screaming from upstairs. I ran up to check on my parents and Mikasa.

But nothing was there.

I slept with Mikasa that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And chapter 5 is here! I love all your comments like normal. This goes out to all the Father's today (happy father's day everyone). Thank you for the support!


	6. The Newcomer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren and his parents let strangers in despite scary movies telling them not to do that.

Chapter 6

I woke up the next morning feeling sick and sore. I got up and slipped out of Mikasa’s grasp and went downstairs, stopping when I heard someone crying. I walked over to the front door and paused, peering out the window. It was a boy laying on our porch. It must be cold outside. I opened the door and crouched down. On closer inspection he looked about my age. I tapped his shoulder. “Hey… Everything okay?”

He looked up at me with wide eyes, gray like thunderstorms. He had an angled face and short black hair. A chill ran through me. He looked like the guy in the newspaper I saw in my dreams. Maybe I’ve seen him around town? He wiped his tears away quickly and looked away. “S-Sorry I hadn’t realized someone lived here.”

“...Yeah… It’s okay… do you need anything?” I took his hand and helped him up. He came about nose length of me. He… was beautiful.

“No… I’ll just be going.” He leaned down to pick up the bag he was using as a pillow.

“No, wait, you can come in. I can make you breakfast.” My mom would kill me if I sent him away with nothing. “Come on, you can come in and shower if you want. I’m not like a kidnapper or anything if that’s what you’re thinking. My mom would just kill me if I didn’t at least offer.”

“Umm...Sure, yeah… I’d like that.” He accepted it hesitantly and looked around as if to figure out any way to get out of this situation. He was kind of cute.

I led him inside and walked down to the basement to get him some clothes. He looked around in silence.

“No offense, but this place is creepy as hell.” The boy said looking over at me.

“Yeah, I know.” I chuckled and took him upstairs, but was stopped by my mom half way up.

“Oh, who is this?”

“I don’t really know… I found him on the porch sleeping. I thought he could use a shower and some food?” I said looking up at my mom in curiosity.

“Oh! Of course. What’s your name, sweetie?” She turned to the black haired male and tilted her head.

He shrugged. “I… I don’t really remember. I don’t remember much. I just remember running and then dropping on your porch.”

“That’s okay, sweetie. Get a shower and I’ll make you some food. Eren’s clothes might be a little big on you, but I can wash yours. You’re welcome to stay here for as long as you want. We’ll take you to the police and we can figure out where you belong.”

“No! No… I don’t want to go to the police.” The boy quickly declined having a running stance ready if we pressed him any further. “I’m okay. Really.”

My mother sighed and nodded. “Okay, we’ll talk about it later. Get in shower.” She then walked downstairs, her perfume relaxing me as she passed. It was flower scented.

I walked him to the bathroom and got a towel and washcloth out before setting them on the sink counter. I turned to him. “Take your time. I’ll take today off school so we can figure out where you can sleep and stuff.”

“… Why are you inviting me into your house? For all you know I could be like an ax murderer or some shit like that.” He said tilting his head giving me a suspicious look. “Or you could be like kidnappers.”

“No, no. It’s fine. We’re just… really generous. My mom would have killed me if I hadn’t at least offered this. You don’t have to worry. You can leave whenever you want or stay for however long you want.” I tried to reassure knowing how this might all look to him, but in all honesty my mom was just really caring towards stray beings. Whether it was cats, dogs, birds, people, she always accepted them in. “So, enjoy the shower and mom is probably making French toast. It’s the best in the world.”

“…Okay…” He stepped in the shower. “I mean, I could steal your shit though.”

“Then you probably need it more than us.” I shrugged it off, it wouldn’t be the first time someone stolen from them when they invited them in. “My dad is a doctor so money isn’t really a big issue with us.”

“Oh…” He started to take off his clothes and I quickly looked away.

“Well, clothes and towels are right there. Turn to the temperature you want and then pull the big knob out and then pull out the smaller one. The soaps are around the tub. It’s whatever you want to use.” I started to walk to the door.

“Wait… umm… can you just, like, sit on the floor? I don’t want to be alone. You don’t have to it’s… just… this place is creepy.” He looked over at me, boxers hanging on his delicate hips. He was pale with bruises and scars running over his distinct muscles.

“…Umm… Yeah…” I sat down on the rug facing away from the tub. “So, what happened? I know you said you don't remember, but those are some nasty scars. Want my dad to look you over?”

“No, I’m okay. I just slipped down the steps.”

I glanced over at him and saw him stepping into the tub. “You know that’s what people say when they’re being abused.”

“Yeah.” He said and turned on the shower. “It’s also what people say when they fall down the steps. I’m clumsy.” He jumped back when the water first came on before slowly getting back under the shower head again and letting the water slip over him.

I tried not to think about that too hard. It’s not that I was attracted to him. I didn’t even know him, but I mean, he did have a nice body. But so did Erwin. I continued to think about Erwin while the boy was in the shower. “So, did you hear about what happened in this house?”

“No, I don’t remember shit, kid.” He called back, eye-roll evident in the sound of his voice.

Right… that was a stupid question. “Oh, well apparently this kid killed his father here. Well, not in the bathroom. It’s rumored it happened in the basement.”

“And you’re telling me this why?”

“In case anything weird happens.”

He stopped washing and looked over, foggy form looking at my own foggy form from behind the curtain. “Has anything happened?”

“Not really. I mean, things that can be explained reasonably has happened.”

“What does that mean?”

“I mean, like the sounds of foot steps and I’ve been experiencing scratches. But we found out that there are mice so it’s probably just all them, really.”

“Ah.” That seemed to convince him and he started to wash again. “Did you get traps?”

“Yeah.”

“Did you place them in the closet in the basement?”

“No.” Wait. How did he know there was a closet in the basement? I mean, maybe he just saw me take my clothes out of it? He was with me. But still… his voice made it sound so personal. I looked away from him when he moved the curtain.

“You should. Mice like to hide in dark places. You should check for mold too since it is dark and damp.”

“It’s not damp in there.”

“There isn’t a water leak?” He raised a brow in confusion when I glanced over at him.

“Huh…? Uh… no? Why do you ask…?” This guy was seriously weirding me out. Like what the hell? Why does he act like he knows this place?

“Oh, at my house there’s a water leak in there. I just figured it could happen here…” For some reason I didn’t believe him. And why should I? It’s not like I know this guy. He’s a total stranger to me. But… even when we invited in the homeless in the past I didn’t get that scared of them. But for some reason with this kid… I was getting really creeped out. That is, until I saw him in my clothes. I stifled a laugh as I stood up and helped him roll up the sleeves and pant legs.

“You really are short.” I teased lightly before standing up.

He stood up after fixing the last leg and then looked at his hair in the mirror, cowlicks sticking up and then bending down. So adorable. His glare on the other hand… if looks could kill I’d be a dead man.

The stranger wiped the mirror with his hand before looking around. “Can I borrow a brush or comb?”

I riffled through the drawers before handing over my red brush I rarely used.

He took it and began to brush his hair, water droplets falling off and landing on his neck.

I gulped maybe a little too loudly as I watched it travel down in my shirt. No, Erwin. Think about how hot Erwin would be just fresh out of shower. It didn’t have the same effect, but it helped me feel better about the situation. I wasn’t a cheater. I knew that. My mother raised me better than that. These were just thoughts of a hormonal boy. Besides, Erwin and I just started dating. I don’t need to be handing away my virginity to the first guy I date. This was just pent up frustrations. It’s not like I remember the last time I did that to myself. The more I thought about this the more I was blushing.

“What?” The boy asked tilting his head.

I blushed like a strawberry when I realized that I was staring at his collarbones. I quickly looked away and rubbed the back of my neck. “oh…uh… n-nothing. I just… got lost in thought. Day dreams, you know?”

“Please, do not do anything to me that we would both regret.” He scoffed and pushed past me. “Besides, I’m probably a little too old for you.”

“W-Wait how old are you?”

“Twenty-three.”

I stared at him in disbelief. Bullshit. That was complete bullshit. He looked like a teenager. He dressed like a teenager. He definitely didn’t look twenty-three. “Oh… wait so you’re an adult…”

“Yeah?” His slim, black eyebrow raised as he gave me a look of annoyance. “I never said I was not an adult.”

“Oh. Yeah… but… I just… you don’t look it is all.” He really didn’t look like it. Hell, Erwin looked older than him. Of course, that could just be the height too. He was short, but now that I looked at him I knew he was probably older than me. His voice was more even, not as many voice cracks. He also had a strong jaw and given the muscles he must have been training for years. But still… he didn’t look like he was out of high school yet.

“I get that a lot. Genetics wasn't in favor of me.” He explained and shrugged before putting his towel in the hamper and looking at me. “Don’t you have school?”

“I’ll stay home, so I can show you around and stuff. I mean, you are still a stranger and this is still our house so it’s not like we should trust each other with anything. Besides, I’m not a big fan of school anyways.” I didn’t want to face Erwin and explain this situation to him. To anyone else this would look really weird. We invited a stranger in our house to stay for as long as he wanted. We didn’t even know his name. To anyone, this would be crazy. But, our family was just weird like that.

“…Why are you going through all this effort?” The black haired boy asked. So, he was still trying to figure us out. I don’t blame him.

I shrugged, “It’s the nice thing to do?” I took his hand and walked him downstairs. His hand was small and cold. It sent chills up my spine.

I sat him at the table and sat next to him and my mom gave us plates.

“Eat up, boys!”

I quickly started to shovel the French toast in my mouth after putting syrup on it. My mom gave me a look that screamed ‘stop acting like you’re starving and chew your food properly’. I started to slow down and glanced over at the stranger. “…Why aren’t you eating?”

“It might be poisonous.” He said simply, giving me a ‘you’re a dumbass’ look.

“Oh.” I reached over and took a bite out of his. “See? It’s perfectly normal. You’re safe here.”

He looked at me, judging me probably before starting to eat, his stomach rumbling. Wow, he was really hungry. My mom kept giving him piece after piece until he was full. He and Mikasa didn’t talk to each other. Mikasa didn’t like the whole “let’s bring someone we don’t know into our house” thing.

I sent Erwin a quick text saying I wouldn’t be in school today and then took him to the living room after we washed our dishes. Everyone had left now. It was just me and him now.

“You can sleep if you want or we can watch a movie or something.”

“…Sleep would be nice.”

“Okay. You can sleep here or in my room. Whichever.”

“Where’s your bedroom? A bed would be nice.”

“Basement.” I got up and took him down to my room and pulled out some more blankets. He still felt like he was freezing.

Giving me a cautious look, he slid under the blankets and got comfortable before thanking me. He then closed his eyes and before I knew it he was sleeping. I took the opportunity to get Levi’s journal out and start reading it.


	7. This is Levi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren decides everything is okay, despite not being okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for any mistakes. I am really tired and need to go to bed. I'll edit this later maybe.

Chapter 7

_10-31-10_

_I… I fucked up. I fucked up so badly. I just wanted to show off a little. I… I didn’t mean… Erwin is in jail. I…It’s bullshit that he’s in here. It’s my fault. I was the one… I wanted to dress up a little suggestive for Erwin. I wore booty shorts, cat ears and tail with a black shirt and collar. That pervert teacher… Mr. Zacharius… he… he asked me to stay after class. I thought it was because my grades were shit, but then he pinned me against his desk and went to kiss me and I tried to get away but he was probably four times my size. Luckily Erwin was meeting me at the end of the day and walked in the classroom. He went ballistic. He pushed Mr. Zacharius off me and punched him. It became this big thing. Mr. Zacharius pressed charges and now Erwin’s parents have to get him out. They don’t blame me or him. They think the school didn’t handle that well. They trusted me. I… I sent their kid to jail. I’m so fucking stupid. I hope he’s doing okay…_

_-L_

I gulped as I read the page. I hope nothing too horrible happened to either one of them. I picked up my phone and texted Erwin.

_To Erwin: Hey I no this bugs u…but when u went 2 jail nothing happened to u rite ur ok rite_

_From Erwin: It’s in the past, Eren. Stop digging this up. I’m okay. If I wasn’t I wouldn’t be here. Stop reading his journal. No, nothing happened. He was okay. I was okay. I did everything in my power to make sure he was okay. He didn’t tell me the stuff he went through at home… if I had known… things would have been different. But I didn’t know. There’s nothing we can_

_From Erwin: do about it now._

I sighed and looked up at the living room tv that was entertaining no one. I was too busy reading the journal to really notice what it was playing.

“What are you reading?”

I nearly fell on the floor from the sudden voice. I had forgot I wasn’t alone. I looked up at him and smiled. “Oh, just a journal that was left here from the last owners.”

He walked over and sat down next to me. “The one that murdered his parents?”

“Yeah.”

“Hmm. And you’re reading his journal?”

“Yeah. I know it’s weird... but he had a horrible life that I can’t help be fascinated with. I know… morbid right?” I chuckled and rubbed the back of my neck. He got closer to look at the journal causing me to blush.

“…We read things that astonish and relate to us. So, no it’s not really that bad of you.” He explained leaning back in the couch. “At least, those are the stories that leave the most lasting impressions on us.”

“I’m not a big reader…”

“You don’t have to be to do that. The kid that wrote this probably just relates to you.” He chuckled and glanced on the page. “…Or not…”

“Huh?” I looked down at the page and started to understand. “Oh! No! This has never happened to me! Though, I do know Erwin! He’s actually my boyfriend. I… Yeah, I don’t know. It’s weird.” My heart was pounding. I didn’t want this guy to think I would do anything to him, but everything around me was weird. This house. This journal. This past. My connection to it. And even inviting him in. Why did I do that? I felt like I could trust him. So did mom. But why? It’s not like I know him. I held onto my shirt and flipped the page. Just keep reading. Maybe that will end the conversation.

_12-25-10_

_Merry fucking Christmas to me. Happy birthday too. It’s snowing out. Erwin walked over, but Kenny didn’t let him in. I miss mom… I miss mother too. At least she celebrated with me. I don’t know… I guess I shouldn’t have expected anything. Maybe… if I could just spend it with Erwin it would be better. I miss him. We haven’t really talked much. I’ve had to stay home because Kenny hit my face. I have a big bruise on my cheek. I can’t go to school or CPS would be called. I don’t want to leave. This is my home. Only my home. No matter how shitty it is, this is where I belong. I guess._

“Hey… your name was Eren, right?”

“Oh… uh…” Had I introduced myself to him? I don’t think so… “Yeah. How did you know that?”

“Your mom said it earlier. You never introduced yourself.” He explained and then leaned against me, rubbing at his eyes.

I jumped and tensed before relaxing and looking at his tired form. I guess I could read this later… I put the journal on the table. I wrap an arm around him and cuddle down with him before grabbing the blanket and putting it on us. This was nice. He was smaller than me so he was a nice cuddle companion. Why was I trusting him so much…? Why am I trusting him so much? Is it because he’s smaller than me? I looked at him and the image in the newspaper flashed through my head again. No, impossible. I looked at the tv and flipped to a movie. “You startled me.”

“Sorry… I’m just… cold… I should have asked.” He sighed about to get up, but my arm prevented him.

I shake my head and sighed. “It’s whatever. Just… you know it’s weird, right? We just met and yet… I don’t exactly fear you.”

“You’re a weird kid.” He yawned out and nuzzled closer to me. “It’s not everyday someone just invites a stranger into their home and treats them like a part of the family.”

I chuckled and shrugged. “It seemed like the right thing to do… Besides, you needed a meal and rest it looks like.”

The man chuckled and shook his head. “Yeah, I guess so… but still.”

I slipped down and smiled at him before getting more comfy. “Don’t worry about it.”

“…Alright…” The man smiled and curled up with him. “I remembered my name.”

“Oh?”

“It’s Levi.”

My eyes widened and I looked at him. He already falling back to sleep. No. No. That’s… too much of a coincidence. The scars make sense now if that’s the case… but… no. I’m going insane. I’m literally going insane. I got too involved. I should have burned the book when I had the chance. Wait. Don’t I still have the chance? But wouldn’t that cause Levi to vanish or some shit? Does he know he’s dead? What if he doesn’t? Or what if it just a coincidence? I felt sick…

“… Levi… That’s nice.” This had to be a dream.

He opened his eyes and looked up at me with a chuckle, “Yeah, what do you think my life was like? I hope it was good.”

If he was a ghost then that would explain why he couldn’t remember things. It would explain why he just suddenly showed up, but why now? I don’t understand. Maybe I’m jumping to conclusions. Levi is a somewhat popular name. “You okay?”

“Yeah, are you okay?”

“Yeah.”

Levi nodded and looked at the ceiling. “…How come I feel like I can trust you completely?”

“I don’t know… but I feel the same for you… I guess we just had a natural connection?”

“It makes sense.”

“Are you still tired?”

“Yeah… don’t mind me.”

“Wanna go downstairs and lay down? We could like cuddle… I sorta like cuddling.” Erwin would probably hate me for this, but what else was I supposed to do? We were already cuddling.

“Yeah… That would be nice.” He sat up and rubbed at his eyes.

He was so fucking cute. My heart was racing. I stood, grabbing the journal, and took him down to my room. “Watch the step. We need to fix it.” I said and laid down on my bed. Levi followed me and we laid there holding each other. I liked it. Levi made me feel safe again in this weird ass house. It was just mice. I just had to keep telling myself that and whatever I couldn’t explain was a dream. Yeah, that’s all there was too it. This was all just a coincidence.

I opened up the journal to distract myself.

_And he’s drunk again. I’m in the basement right now. I just texted Erwin for like the hundredth time. I hope he doesn’t hate me. That would suck. Like really suck. Especially since I’ve given him everything. We’ve never fought besides us just being playful. I miss him. Maybe… Maybe I should sneak out. Yeah. Fuck it. I can just make something up about the bruise._

_~~~_

_And I’m at his house! I snuck out by the window! He’s sitting here with me as I write this. Have anything to say Erwin?_

The next couple lines were in a different handwriting.

_Heh, it’s not like anyone else will read this, but just in case. Hello. I’m Erwin Smith. The luckiest guy in the world. I got to be with Levi on his birthday/Christmas. I got him a necklace shaped like a crown-_

I stopped reading and looked over at the boy next to me. I gently slid down the collar on his shirt to see the necklace. It was silver and looked kind of goofy. Much too big for Levi’s small frame. My heart started to beat faster. This… was a coincidence… this had to be… I turned back to the journal.

_-because he’s my prince. I love him so much. I’ll give this back to him now. Merry Birthmas!_

The handwriting changed back to the beautiful cursive.

_Yeah. He’s a dork. But I guess I love him anyways. :P It’s weird to think that we’ve been together for so long now. I don’t know… I think… maybe… after high school we’ll get married. Yeah, that would be nice. Well, I want to eat the cake his mom made me! It looks really good!_

_-L_

I closed the journal and looked over at him. I… can’t believe this… This was so weird. I don’t know how to take this. It could be all a coincidence, but something told me it wasn’t. It was all too perfect. I wonder… I wonder where he’s buried. Do they bury the dead if no one is there to pay for it? It sounds like Levi didn’t have any family. I guess I’ll ask Armin tomorrow. I settled down with him and watched him sleep until mom and dad got home.

~~~

When mom and dad got home we joined them upstairs for dinner. I was expecting dad to throw a fit over having another mouth to feed, but he didn’t. He didn’t really comment over Levi’s presence.

“Who is this, Eren?” Mikasa asked giving him a look that could kill. She didn’t like it when I invited people over. I think she’s still in the mindset that because I’m her little brother I’m hers for life or something like that.

“This is Levi.”

Metal forks hit glass plates all around.

“Eren, don’t be stupid.” My mother rolled her eyes.

So… they found it weird too. I glanced over at Levi to judge his reaction but he just kept eating. I guess he had nothing to lose for not explaining. He probably figured he should eat as much as he could now so if he got kicked out he’d at least have something in his stomach to keep him going. “Yeah… Weird right?”

“Why is that weird?” He finally spoke up.

Tension surrounded the table and no one really explained until I spoke up. “The kid that possibly murdered his family here had the name Levi.”

Levi looked up and shrugged. “I didn’t know. Sorry.”

I stared at him a long time trying to see if that brought any memories back to him. I didn’t just want to accuse him of being a ghost or spirit or whatever. Maybe I should watch some scary movies to see how to go about this. Aren’t I supposed to like help him go into the light or whatever? He’s not hostile so… “It’s fine. How could you have known?”  
Dinner was much quieter after that and by the time we were washing up our plates it was already seven. Mikasa gave me the homework I missed in my classes and I went about figuring it out. Turns out, Levi is really good in math and history. He helped me understand it for the most part.

I gave him some more comfortable clothes to wear for the night time and left him to go take a shower. When I came back he was curled up listening to some of my music on my laptop and reading a book.

I smiled and sat down next to him, my wet hair dripping on his shoulder when I leaned forward to see what he was reading.

“That’s cold.”

“Oh, sorry.” I leaned away and laid down on the bed, looking up at the wood on the ceiling. I’ll figure out everything tomorrow, but for now I need to go to bed. School would be hell tomorrow. I could already tell that tomorrow would be pretty… interesting.


	8. He Knew

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren doesn't become scared of ghosts despite scary movies telling him he should be

Chapter 8

I woke up the next morning to see Levi curled up next to me still, hands clinging to my shirt. My mind instantly went back to the journal: Not that I like cuddles. I wrapped my arms around him and took in his scent. He… smelled really good. I couldn’t let Erwin know about this. I closed my eyes and tried to get back to sleep, but Mikasa came down to wake me up. I eventually did get up and took a quick shower before getting dressed.

Levi woke up as I was putting on my shirt. “Well, isn’t that a nice view to wake up to.”

I instantly blushed and pulled down my shirt, looking over at him. “I’m sure you have abs too. They’re no big deal.”

“I was joking, kid.”

Sure he was. How come I really don’t believe that? I walked over and sat down. “So, I’m going to school today. Try not to tear the house up.”

Levi waved me off.

“And you know, it wasn’t so bad waking up to someone cuddling me.” I teased him, wanting to get him back for when he teased me.

His eyes widened and he hit me. “Hey! I wasn’t cuddling you! It was just cold…”

“Mmhmm. Didn’t look that way to me.” I smirked at him, but he quickly pushed me off the bed, causing me to fall on my ass on the floor. “Hey! Asshole!”

Levi smirked and got down with me, pinning me there. “Not so tough now, huh, kid?”

I blushed and stared up at him. “…What the fuck, man?”

Levi laughed and got off me. “Your face was priceless!”

I blushed more and pushed him down, pinning him there.

His eyes grew even bigger, almost terrified, and he quickly tried to squirm away. “Break, break. Uncle. Shit, get off me.”

“Make me.” I pushed him farther. We were joking around obviously.

“You little shit, let go of me now!” He got his legs under my stomach and pushed me away before curling up and pressing himself against the wall. 

“…Shit… sorry… I thought we were joking around.”

“Well, I wasn’t! When someone says to get the fuck off them you get the fuck off them, you ass!” He growled and held himself tighter.

I crawled over and took his hand, “Hey, I’m sorry. I will next time, okay? Come upstairs, mom made breakfast and I need to go to school.” I got up and took him upstairs with me.

~~~

I was on the gym floor when Erwin came up to me. He looked over at me and his eyes widened. “…Did you change your soap or whatever?”

I tilted my head before shaking it. “No.”

“Oh… you smell differently is all… not that it’s bad… it’s just…” He glanced away. I smelled like Levi. I was making him remember something he didn’t want to remember. I felt bad. Of course I did. But… in a way… I think I only liked him because I found the mystery fascinating. That’s a shitty reason… but… maybe I should end it? Do I care about him? Like in that way? I thought I did. I really did. But now I’m having doubts. Sure, he looks like a fucking God, but… we didn’t really know each other.

“Sorry… my mom might have changed the detergent. Anyways…How have you been?”

“Good. Hey, Eren?”

“Yeah?”

“…Are we working? Like really?”

“…I was just thinking about that…” I rubbed the back of my neck and started to look away from him. “Maybe… we should be friends first?” I didn’t want to lead him on or cheat on him. Hell, a guy slept in my bed last night. That wasn’t fair to Erwin. “I mean, I just feel I don’t know you and I don’t want to be dating if there are bigger and better things out there for you. You are a senior and… I don’t know.”

“You don’t know what you want?”

“That’s a little bit of it, but mostly I don’t want to waste your time… and it’s complicated right now. There’s this guy staying at our house and I don’t want to make you feel like I’m cheating or anything. Because I’m not. But… he slept in my bed last night with me cause I don’t know… It’s weird. I trusted him I guess. So, yeah… I’m sorry.” I was fidgeting with the front of my shirt before I gained the courage to look up at him. He didn’t look mad. He looked up at me with understanding and ruffled my hair.

“Hey, it’s alright. I understand, but I don’t think you should be letting some stranger you don’t know in your bed.”

I looked down and rubbed the back of my neck. “Umm… Yeah… I don’t know. He has this air around him that he’s very dependable and trustworthy. I guess I just wasn’t being too cautious.”

“He’s a stranger, Eren. Don’t get too comfortable with him.”

“I won’t.” I smiled before we started to play some dodge ball. I kicked ass.

~~~

I walked into lunch not really expecting anything, but Armin had made me lunch again. He looked at me with a look that suggested I was the caribou and he was the lion or some shit. I sat down and waited for him to say something.

“So, after I left… what happened?”

I shrugged. “Nothing. Can I ask you something though?”

Armin nodded happily, “Is this about precalc? I don’t really get it either. It’s like foreign and the teach-”

“No, no… It’s nothing like that. There was this guy on my porch.”

“Is that why you weren’t here yesterday?”

“Yeah. And… well, I invited him into my house. I know that’s stupid, but… this guy was crying and he didn’t have much on him and… he looked…” I took a deep breath before exhaling. “You’re going to think I’m crazy… but… I think it’s Levi.”

“…What?”

“I mean, that explains all the weird shit that I’ve been experiencing.” I said rubbing at the new scratch on my arm. “Maybe… that wasn’t a dream…”

“Eren… this is ridiculous. Ghosts don’t exist. It’s scientifically impossible.”

I looked over at him and rolled my eyes. “Doesn’t science say energy can’t be destroyed or created? Aren’t we energy? I mean… it doesn’t make sense.”

Armin sighed and shook his head. “Maybe… I don’t know. It’s just weird. Shouldn’t you leave? He is a murderer. Shouldn’t you… you know not be there knowing that.”

I hummed and shook my head. “No… he’s not like a crazy psychopath. I think… something happened that made him do that. I don’t think he’s bad.”

“He’s been leaving scratches and dragged you up to the attic and shit.”

“… Yeah… but… maybe there’s a good reason. I mean, he showed me that newspaper clipping. He gave me the key to his journal, he-”

“You have his journal?” Armin interrupted looking at me in surprise.

I nodded, “Erwin said I should burn it, but I didn’t. I think it would explain a lot. Maybe the police never found it and that’s why he’s like seeking revenge or whatever.” I shrugged and sipped at my juice. “I really don’t fear him.”

Armin sighed and shook his head. “I can’t believe you’re letting him just live there with you. What do your parents think?”

“This hasn’t been the first time we’ve let strays into our house to stay and shower and stuff. My mom likes to help people. She says it will bring good karma to our house. So, it wasn’t that hard for him to fit in. It’s honestly not going to be that bad. We slept in the same bed last night. If he wanted to kill me he would have done it then.”

“That’s so reckless!”

I shrugged.

Armin sighed and got up, “Well, lunch is almost over.”

I nodded and got up, grabbing my trash and throwing it away. There was a lot to think about considering I really didn’t know what to do with this situation. Should I bring it up? It would make things a lot easier. Besides, maybe I’m like that person who will guide him into the light or something like that. That would be nice- if he could have peace. I smiled at that. From his journal I can tell he’s a good person. I want him to be free.

~~~

When I got home, Levi was with my mom in the kitchen making some cookies. He glanced over at me and smiled. “Hey, I made cookies for your school boy ass.”

I blushed and rolled my eyes. “Umm… thanks.” I blushed as I took the plate he was handing out to me. I sat down at the table and began eating them, Levi sitting next to me and snatching a cookie from me every so often. I think the cookies were really for him. I smiled at how cute he looked.

Mom sat down across from us. “So, Levi…?”

Levi looked up, wiping his mouth with his napkin quickly. “Yes?”

“…Since you’re an adult how long do you plan on staying here?”

“Oh, umm… I guess that just depends on how long you’ll let me. I really appreciate everything you’re doing for me. I mean, I think it’s fucking insane that you even let me in, but… ummm… thanks.”

Mom smiled and I instantly knew mom would probably adopt him if she could. That’s probably why Levi hasn’t left yet. “Stay for as long as you want. There’s no rush. Of course, once you feel ready I want you to get a job, even if it’s part time, to help with bills if you plan to stay that long.”

Levi nodded. “Of course.”

I kind of wondered how he was going to do that. Everyone in town knew his face. No one would hire him. Hell, everyone would be scared of him. Levi deserved to stay in this house. It was his house after all. He was here first. I’ll get a job for him and give him the money so it seems like he’s getting the money. I sipped at a glass of milk mom got me. “Hey, Levi…?” I guess I should tell him what he really is in case he tries to go out in public or something.

“Yeah?” Levi turned back to me and his eyes felt like they were going right through me. I shivered.

“Can I talk to you later? It’s nothing important.”

“School problems?”

I nodded because mom was here and that would look weird if I hadn’t.

“How’s Erwin?” Mom asked looking over at me happily.

Shit. I glanced over to Levi hoping that name didn’t bring up any bad memories only to be surprised by the fact he just continued eating cookies, uninterested. “Oh, we broke up. We decided to be friends first since we didn’t really know each other well.” 

She pouted and looked down, “oh… that’s too bad.”

I shrugged, “It was mutual.” I drank the rest of my milk and ate my cookies before getting up and grabbing my bag. I went downstairs to the basement and worked on homework.

After I got most of my homework done, Levi came down and sat on the bed with me. “Wanna talk now?” He asked looking over at me. I felt like he already knew what I was going to say. He had that look of annoyed understanding in his eyes.

“Umm… Yeah…” Fuck, I hope he doesn’t kill me. I mean, it is valid since I’m the one that’s keeping him here for my own selfish reasons. But Levi wouldn’t be like that. Levi wouldn’t hurt a fly.

“Shoot.”

I fiddled with the papers on my lap before looking up at him. “… I think… the reason you can’t remember anything about your life is…”

“Is because?” He prompted as if I was a child. 

“…I think you’re… you’re dead.” I flinched and looked away. Fuck, I should have watched more Ghost Whisperer or scary movies or something. Anything would have been fine as long as it would have prepared me for this situation. But I didn’t. I didn’t even believe ghosts were real. But here I was… looking at one.

“What… the actual fuck?” Levi tilted his head and his eyebrows furrowed.

“U-Ummm… It’s just… I… I’m sorry. The past owner his name was Levi. You have the necklace that Erwin gave him and everything.” I stammered, refusing to look him in the eye. I was looking at everything, but him. What the hell am I doing? How could I accuse him of something like this? This is ridiculous. This is completely ridiculous. This was a mistake. This was a complete-

“…Hey, calm down.” He touched my hand and held it. He sat next to me and smiled. “It’s fine. I knew.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just wanted to thank everyone for reading, commenting and leaving kudos. Sorry Chapter 8 is a little late, but I have been tired the past couple of nights.


	9. His Last Words

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren reads Levi's diary and trusts him, despite movies telling him not to.

Chapter 9

I stared at him in disbelief. “Huh…?”

“Yeah, I knew. I knew all along I wasn’t supposed to be here. I knew… that I died four years ago. I just didn’t know if you would recognize me or not.”

“Wait… what…?” No… no. This wasn’t possible. This wasn’t how this was supposed to go. He was supposed to be the confused one. He was the one who was supposed to just laugh at me and not believe me. He… I shouldn’t be the one facing this. A chill ran through me as I stared at him.

“Eren, I am Levi Ackerman. I’m the one who killed my father. I’m the one whose diary you’ve been reading. I’m the one who gave you the key to read my diary. And you’re the one who brought me back. You’re the one who gave me strength to banish my father from this house.” He held my hands and I just stared at him. What the actual shit?

What was going on? What… what… I don’t understand. I just kept staring at him, looking at him like he was going to tell me that this was just a joke. That he wasn’t who he said he was. It never came though. He kept staring back at me and squeezing my shaking hands. “…That…That’s not possible…”

“It is. You said it was just a moment ago.” He lifted the necklace. “This is the necklace Erwin gave me for my birthday. These are the scars my shackles left on me.” He showed me his wrists, “And I have more proof but I don’t think you want to see it.”

I glanced down at his lap. I felt sick. I had… I had read that on the newspaper. I had read that newspaper on the day that… “You dragged me up in the attic.”

“… Only because I knew you didn’t believe what people were saying. You were the only one who… who actually gave a shit about what I had to say.”

I started shaking as I continued to look into those deep, gray eyes. “Why now? Why…”

Levi shook his head and laid me down. “Because you gave me the power to be here. You became obsessed with me and in turn I became more and more real in this world. I was able to do more things… I… I wanted… no I needed to tell someone what happened.”

I couldn’t handle this right now. “…This is a dream.”

Levi shook his head. “No, this isn’t a dream. This is reality. I can prove it.”

“H-How…?”

Levi leaned down and kissed me softly. His lips were chapped and cold, but the kiss itself was warm and hesitant. It lasted only a second before he leaned away and held my cheek with his hand. “I’ve waited a long time for someone like you.”

My face turned bright red as I just stared at him, speechless. What the hell…? No, this wasn’t right. I can’t… No. “You’re dead…”

“…I am.” He said after a while leaning away and looking out the room. It occurred to me then that this was the room he died in. Did he remember it? Was this how he had his room? What was he thinking right now? A smile came to his face. “Even now you’re curious about me. I can feel it.”

I blushed and looked away from him. “…What do you want now? You’re dead… isn’t there a light you should be going into or some shit like that?”

Levi laughed and shook his head. “Eren, energy cannot be created or destroyed. Have you ever thought about that? Souls just don’t vanish, Eren. They go to the thing that person held dear.” He grabbed the box and pulled out the white wing necklace and slipped it on. He then grabbed the other one and slipped it around my neck. It didn’t weigh all that much, but it felt like it could suffocate me at any moment. “Take good care of my things, okay?”

“…Erwin was right… I should have burned everything… you could have been free then…” I whispered as my hand went up to touch the smooth, silver edges.

“…Please do not talk about him around me… I hadn’t wished for him to see me that day…” Levi teared up before getting up and looking at me. “Anyways, you should rest. That was a lot of info that you probably don’t really believe. I’ll make sure nothing hurts you.”

“How can I trust you? You scratched me, pushed me down those steps I don’t know how many fucking times, dragged me to the attic, and now… this shit.” 

Levi glared over at me. “I didn’t scratch you or push you down the steps. That was my father. He doesn’t like children. Besides… don’t you know me? I’m still the same person you’ve read.”

My eyes widened before I looked away. “Okay, yeah. That makes sense… umm… please don’t tell my parents or sister. I really don’t want them to know about this.”

Levi nodded and sat back, expression softening. “You have my word.”

~~~

When I woke up, Mikasa was coming down to get me. She smiled and shook Levi awake. Great job protecting me, Levi. I rolled my eyes and got up walking upstairs for dinner. I wasn’t that hungry. I was still thinking about what Levi told me. Levi was a spirit stuck here by the things I discovered. He hadn’t meant to cause Erwin to be scared of the house. He had killed his father. His father was here too, but somehow Levi was keeping him away. Levi wasn’t the one to push me down the steps or scratch me, but he has been the one to guide me to all the things that would tell his story.

“Eren!”

I jumped and turned to my father. “Y-Yes?”

“What seems to be on your mind?” He chuckled, “I asked you a question like ten times.”

“Oh… uh… just school. I had a weird day at school is all.” I said nibbling on my baked potato. Levi sat down on one side of me and Mikasa on the other.

Mikasa turned to me and tilted her head. “Who’s giving you problems now?”

“Eren broke up with Erwin today.” Mom explained and I wanted to slam my face into my plate. That was not something I wanted to talk to my sister or father about.

I didn’t really pay attention to what anyone was saying. I just kept nodding and agreeing. That is until Levi spoke up.

“You should pay attention, Eren. You should value your family.” He looked at me with a weird expression. Did he envy me? Did he hate me?

“Right…” I looked away and rubbed the back of my neck. This was so awkward. I don’t know how to react to any of this. Why was it always me?

I asked to be excused once I had finished my dinner and went down into my room. I turned to Levi and sat on my bed. “…So… what happened that night?”

Levi stiffened and he leaned against the wall looking down at the floor. “…You should read my journal first. I don’t want you to think I’m some giant ass.”

In my opinion, Levi wasn’t. From what I could tell from his journal and now his body being in front of me, Levi had experienced a great deal of trauma from his father’s abuse and therefore the bastard deserved it. Maybe that was too simple thinking. I always believed in an eye for an eye. I didn’t want to argue with him though. It was somewhat late and I just wanted to cozy down and read. I grabbed his journal. 

_3-24-11_

_I want… this to all be over. I really fucking do. I want to stop getting the shit beaten out of me. I’m sick of hiding all this shit from Erwin. I… he’s getting really annoyed with me because I am so wishy-washy with coming over and stuff. He doesn’t know I sneak out. He doesn’t know anything. I don’t want him to have to worry about me. This…is okay. I mean… sure it’s shit that this happens, but it shouldn’t concern anyone else. I think I need to go to the hospital. My sides are bruised. What if my ribs are broken? What do I tell the doctors? I don’t want father to get in trouble. He’s the one who has had to put up with me for 10 years. I know no one would get any of this. Father just doesn’t know what he’s doing. He wasn’t always like this. He used to just ignore me for mother’s sake. I made mother so happy…_

_I’m going to the hospital. Erwin is taking me even though he’s not supposed to. He only has his temps. This hurts like a little bitch. I hate this. I hate this so much. He didn’t ask any questions. I’m going to have to tell him. He’s going to be so mad I didn’t tell him sooner._

_-L_

_4-17-11_

_So, I had a couple broken ribs. I said I had been trying to do a stunt on my skateboard and fucked it up. Now, I’m in Erwin’s room. I’m going to get yelled at tomorrow for this shit. I wasn’t supposed to go to the hospital. Erwin’s stroking my hair. It feels nice. I like this. This is my little piece of heaven. You treat me so right, Erwin Smith. I know I suck at writing in this journal, it’s a 50 page notebook but… looks like I’ll only need 20 pages. I think I’ll be okay. It is only one more year._

_-L_

I smiled, but when I looked up and saw him there I immediately frowned. Something had to have gone wrong. And that’s when I noticed the next couple pages are covered in blood, actually the rest of them are. The final page had the last message. It wasn’t elegantly written like the other pages. No. It was scribbled on messily. His dying words.

9-23-11

_I… I fucked up. Father saw me and Erwin in town kissing. Thank god Erwin wasn’t over. I… I should have been more careful. It’s not my fault. I hadn’t meant to… I didn’t mean. I… This wasn’t supposed to happen. Why did this happen? Why does father have to be such a dick?! I can’t take this… the room is spinning. This is like a mini hell. Is that where I’m going? Hell? I don’t think it will be that bad. I guess I’ve always been a low key Satanist… I wonder if it will feel like I’m falling. I’m bleeding out. Excuse the blood. I was always a neat person too. I’m… I’m dying. At age 17, I’m dying. I didn’t get to drive. I didn’t get the right to vote. I didn’t get to drink. I didn’t even get to graduate. Heh, life is a bitch. You may be wondering why I’m not calling 911 at this point. Maybe because I just want to fall into this. Or maybe I don’t want my father to take the fall for this. I was always considerate. I wish I had more time. I wish I had met Erwin sooner. My sweet Erwin. I’m probably not going to last much longer. I’m getting really weak. I guess… I just wanted to say I love my mom and mother and I can’t wait to join you. Hopefully no_

And that was it. He had died mid-sentence. I looked at the words and realized that that’s how people died. In the middle of their stories. It wasn’t heroic or intense. It just ended. In the middle of a sentence. I looked over at Levi and saw that he was watching me. What was he thinking right now? Did he think I hated him?

“…What happened?” I wanted to know because it wasn’t what the police reports said. Levi hadn’t gone insane. That was evidence. No… I could probably piece together what had happened. I didn’t want to though. Like Erwin said, Levi seemed like a gentle person, whatever drove him to kill his father had been serious.

“...I’ll show you if you want.” He said looking at me with eyes full of emotion.

I stopped and thought about it, because did I really want to see that? But the look in his eyes… it made it seem like he needed someone to know. Just one person to know he wasn’t crazy, that he was just a person. A person who just had a shit life and did everything he could to fix it. So, for that reason I decided on my answer. I wanted to be that one person Levi could tell this too and know he wouldn’t get judged.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you again for the support! I really enjoy reading and writing this story. We're almost done and I can't wait to see everyone's reactions to certain things. xD Love you all!


	10. These Hidden Things

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren learns about the past, despite scary movies telling him not to do that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this is the chapter where most of the warnings in the tags are for. There is rape in this (though I don't really go into detail with it) and a lot of violence and death. I tried my best to make this chapter to the best it could be. I actually wrote this three times. I wrote a censored version with mostly just Eren's thoughts and not so much what was actually happening then an uncensored version with everything in full detail and then I mixed them together to form this. You have been warned.

Chapter 10

The door slammed shut and I found myself trapped in the basement. What… What is going on? The smell of beer instantly hit my nose causing it to scrunch up in disgust. What was I doing here? What was I… What was I doing before this? I was talking to Levi. I quickly looked around and saw him sitting on my bedside table. He looked… his eyes looked… dead. They were cloudy and he looked like he wasn’t even there. Like a ghost. That’s right… he was a ghost. “…Levi… what the fuck is going on…?”

“I’m showing you that day. Actually… you’re the one that’s gonna live that day.” He said looking down as he stood, walking over to me, taking my hand. “It won’t leave any scars or injuries on you…but… this is the best way I can explain what happened this… this is… the day I died.”

I stared at him and then at our hands. He was cold and shaking. He didn’t want to witness this. He experienced it. Why should he have to be the one to go through it again? I squeezed his hand and nodded. “Alright.” I watched him back away and sit on the dresser.

“Someone has to know, Eren…”

I nodded and before I knew it I was pushed on the bed and the man, Levi’s father, was on me. He was drunk. He was drunk and he was going to do terrible things to me. Tears started to fill my eyes and I blinked them away.

“So fucking romantic. Kissing your boyfriend in the park. Maybe I should go fuck him too.”

I tensed. W-What…? No… No! “Levi! I want out! Please!”

“…Why should you have a choice when I didn’t?” He asked looking away and holding the bottom of his shirt, nervously.

“Levi! I’m a virgin!” I was crying because I didn’t want this to be my first. Not like this… It wasn’t supposed to be like this. It was supposed to be romantic with a nice guy who loved me… not this. 

Levi looked back at me and shook his head. “This is the same as a dream, Eren. It won’t affect you like that. I promise.”

“…The fuck it wo-” I was cut off by a kiss, the man’s hands going down my sides. I struggled to get away, kicking and punching him, but it was futile. Especially when he chained my arms above my head. I was… completely his now. There was no stopping this unless Levi stopped it. I started to cry as he slipped up my shirt.

“You always were… a fucking waste of time… bastard child…” He slashed a cut down my side.

I flinched and started to squirm away from him. I don't even know when he got out the knife. “…Stop it… stop it…” I don’t want to know anymore. I already know Levi is innocent. The man was about to slide my pants down when I suddenly wasn’t on the bed anymore. I was standing where Levi had stood and I watched as he looked up at the man above him. No. This was worse. I didn’t want to just watch as Levi went through this again. He shouldn’t have to go through this again.

I watched as Levi struggled and the man threw out insults to him as his clothes were slowly removed. Levi laid there naked, nails digging so far into his palms I could see a little blood trickle down his wrists.

“…Now… since you’ve been such a bad boy I’m going to punish you now. That way you won’t ever be interested in him ever again.”

“I’ll always love Erwin.” Levi hissed glaring up at him, but that only caused him to get smacked, a red hand print was painted on his cheek.

“Don’t back talk me! Does your boyfriend do this? Take you all rough. I bet you’re into that, kinky little shit.” He hissed as he undid his own belt, button and zipper.

I tried to race towards Levi, but something stopped me. Levi wanted me to see this. He wanted me to be the one to bring him to justice. So, that is why I must just watch him go through this.

The man wasn’t all that strong looking. He was more skinny and lanky, but Levi was locked up. I bet if that wasn’t the case this would have been a different story. Levi was still struggling and that’s when I realized the small knife he had in his hands, trying to cut through the chain.

He screamed loudly when Kenny slipped in him harshly. Tears fell down Levi’s cheeks as he tried to squirm away, but his father was quick to grab his hips.

I covered my mouth and looked away, but I still heard every moment of it. Every bed creak, every cry of agony, every insult and every sob. And then it all stopped. I looked back to see the man had gotten up and had removed a pocket knife from his pocket.

“You have way too many balls to be my child. I never wanted you.” He growled and before either I or Levi knew it there was blood all over the bed. Levi cried out in agony as he kicked at the man, but it was no use. In the end, both his testicles were removed. He was then punched once, twice in the face before the man stalked off up the steps.

I stared at Levi as the chain above him finally broke, but he just laid there looking up at the ceiling before rolling off the bed and opening a drawer and taking out his notebook and pen. He began writing, but not the message I had just read. It was on the back page. I was too far away to make it out, but I knew once we got out of whatever the fuck this was I was going to read it. To finally know everything that happened that night. He stood and took the pen and notebook with him before making his way up the steps. I followed him, the scent of iron making me nauseous. The knife was still in Levi’s hand.

We had stopped in the kitchen and I knew this was where the end of his horrid night would be. I sat down at one of the kitchen table chairs and watched as Levi staggered over to his father and pushed him on the ground, running on adrenaline. I was pissed too of course. No person should ever have to go through what Levi went through. I would have killed the bastard myself if Levi wasn’t the one already doing it. I watched as Levi pinned him down and punched him a couple times before stabbing him.

“You know what? I didn’t really like you either. I hated you. Mother deserved better. I’m glad mom never saw me here either. You’re a fucking bastard.” He grunted with each effort it took to get the knife through Kenny’s body.

I was so happy when the bastard finally died, but Levi kept going, stabbing him about four more times before falling over. He grabbed his journal and began writing. And then the door opened.

“Levi…?”

My eyes widened, that… that was Erwin’s voice. He lied. He said he hadn’t come here that night. What was he doing here?

He ran over and quickly picked Levi up to go and patch him up, but Levi stopped him.

“No, I’ve already lost too much blood.”

“This wasn’t your fault! If you let us patch you up and explain it to the authorities… then…”

Levi shook his head and held Erwin, kissing him softly. “Erwin, I don’t want to go to the authorities. I don’t want to be the guy who got raped. My life would be forever changed because of this. Besides… look at me… I’m not going to have a normal life. Let’s go out together.”

Erwin’s eyes widened and he stared at Levi, “… I don’t want to die… Levi… you don’t have to die… Please… I love you.”

Levi shook his head, “Put my journal in my box and hide it. Along with the key.” He slipped the key off his neck and held it in Erwin’s hand. “My father’s company will just pay it off. No one will find out about this if it’s his fault. No… if we make it my fault… then he goes down with me. People won’t want to go into business with someone who has an insane son. When people hear the name Ackerman… they’ll think of me and then by affiliation they won’t want to keep him famous. Ruin his name.” His voice was barely over a whisper and he looked mostly out of it.

Erwin stared at him before nodding. “Of course…” He went to grab the journal, but Levi stopped him. 

“I want to write a last message. Then you can hide it. If anyone moves into this house after this... get to know them. And if they seem worthy then tell them about me, until then keep it our little secret. Okay?”

“Okay.” Erwin nodded and watched him write and then when he got to the final sentence he died, right there next to Erwin.

Erwin stood and took the journal and went downstairs. I followed him and watched as he hid the box in a panel in the closet. He then hid the key under the carpet under Levi’s bed. He left shortly after that.

I stood there trying to process what just happened, but before I could think about it, I jolted up in my bed. Levi was next to me in a cold sweat. This plan that Levi came up with must have worked because I didn’t hear about the Ackerman Company before. I stared at him before hugging him close. I kissed his cheek and nuzzled his hair, beginning to cry.

“Why are you crying…?” Levi asked looking up at me, “It’s not like you experienced it.”

“…But you did.” I said as I held him closer.

“It’s in the past and now you know.” Levi smiled and sat up, stretching. “Can I take a-”

“So… umm… sorry if this is personal but… do you still not… have them.” I tilted my head towards his crotch area. I wanted to lighten the mood. I hoped it would make him laugh.

His eyes widened and he blushed, looking away. “No… it’s just a bunch of scars now…”

I looked down, I shouldn’t have asked. “Sorry…”

He shook his head and turned to me, taking my hands and smiling, “No, don’t be. You’re the one I felt could best understand me and I was right.”

I blushed and stared at him. He just wanted to be understood. He didn’t want to be brought to justice he just wanted someone other than Erwin who knew. “Did Erwin really come back and see you here and that’s why he moved?”

“…Yeah… he tried to get the journal to keep with him, but we got in a fight and I told him he couldn’t have it because it’s mine and it belongs for the person that will understand me. He didn’t understand and I haven’t seen him since.” He rubbed the back of his neck and looked down. “He’s such an ass… I hadn’t realized he moved…”

“Just down the street. I still go to school with him. We used to date… but honestly, I think that was just because I was so interested in knowing his connection with you. That makes me sound like an ass… but… it’s the truth.” I chuckled and looked into his gray eyes. They were much more beautiful now than when they were dead. He was a lot healthier looking now that whatever he just did to make me experience that. I scooted closer to him and rested my hand on his cheek.

“Heh, I figured that’s what happened. Honestly, he was only getting close to you because he had to see if you were interested enough to find out what happened to me and it turns out you were.” He said and reached up to wrap his arms around me. “And in all honestly, I became as obsessed with you as you have with me.”

I blushed and stared at him. “What are you saying…?”

“I’m saying I like you and I want to kiss you right now if you’d let me.” He whispered and leaned up so that our noses were barely touching. “Because I think you understand me a lot more than Erwin ever has…” I don't know where this was all coming from, but in all honesty I don't think I really cared. I felt Levi just wanted to move on from the past with me. I was happy that I was the one that got to experience this.

I smiled and leaned forward to close the gap. My heart felt like it was picking up the pace a bit and my cheeks grew warm. He was warm. He was here. I leaned closer to him and our bodies touched. He clung to my shirt and began to straddle me. It felt nice to have him there. This was all sudden, but I felt like it wasn’t. I’ve been learning about him from watching him these past couple of days and through his journal. I’ve learned about him from Erwin. He wasn’t just a stranger anymore. He was here and we were making out.

His lips felt wonderful against mine. This was something I didn’t feel with Erwin. With Erwin I just felt like it was forced. That neither one of us were really wanting to be together. This was freedom. He was on top of me now and his body felt good against mine. I ran my hands up his back, under his shirt and felt his strong muscles. He was doing the same to my front.

He leaned away and panted staring at me with cloudy eyes and smirked. “I really do love the way you look. Your eyes are gorgeous. I’ve been admiring you for a while.”

I blushed and looked up at him. “I… I think I have too. Is that weird?”

“Heh, maybe just a little since I am dead and am legend to be a killer.” He shrugged and kissed me again, “But, maybe it’s not so weird considering how close you got to me. Hell, people admire Abraham Lincoln, MLK Jr., and a shit ton of other dead people.”

I nodded, staring up at him. “Are you stuck here forever?”

“Yeah…as long as my stuff is here I will be.”

“…Do you want to be free?” I asked knowing that if he did I would burn his things up in a heartbeat.

“Actually, no, not really. I mean… not with you still here. I want to get to know you more and… maybe I’m just being selfish and cocky and think I have a shot at dating you.”

I chuckled and nodded. “Yeah, I think you have a good one.”

There was a knock on the door and Levi quickly slid off me and we opened my homework up to make it look like we weren’t making out or anything.

Mikasa came downstairs and eyed us for a moment before saying that she was going to go to bed and that the bathroom was all ours.

When she left, I turned to Levi and he turned to me.

“Want to go take a shower together?” He asked, smirking at me.

“Umm…” I blushed, but fuck it, I’ve been through enough hell to get to this point and nodded. “Yeah, I would love that.”


	11. Lies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren falls in love with a ghost, despite scary movies telling him not to.

Chapter 11

I got home from school and walked downstairs to see Levi already putting on some new clothes. “Are you sure you know how to drive?”

“…Eh… how hard can it be? You put it in drive and go.” He shrugged and smiled at me. “We’ll be fine.”

“Okay…” I smiled and shifted my feet nervously. We had to go if Levi wanted to do this. “So, how can you leave if your soul is trapped in this house?”

“I’m not for certain I can. If not, then I have a plan B for this wonderful night.”

“What’s plan B?” I asked as I picked out my red button down I had worn to Erwin’s and some black skinny jeans. I glanced over at Levi and saw that he was just staring at me. “W-What?”

“Fuck, you are fucking sexy. Fuck the date, let’s just fuck you in those clothes.”

I blushed and looked away. “I-I don’t know about that… I was looking forward to the date…” In all honesty, I was just nervous about going all the way. I’d be giving my virginity to Levi. In twenty years from now would I regret giving my virginity to a ghost? Probably. I mean… who else would give something like that to a spirit?

“Heh, alright.” Levi smiled and walked over to me and gripped my hips. “But, I might be a little handsy all night, if that’s okay with you?”

I nodded and smiled gripping his own hips, “Yeah… I’ll probably be hands all night too.”

“Heh, I’m just wearing a white shirt and jeans. And they’re your clothes.”

“I don’t care… they look a lot better on you.” I whispered and leaned forward and kissed him which he quickly deepened and soon I was on the bed with him on top of me. He was cold, but he was slowly warming up from me. I blushed and wrapped my arms and legs around him. “Mmm…” His tongue felt so good messing with mine and exploring my mouth.

His hands went under my shirt and the next thing I knew he was pinching and pulling at my hardening nipples.

“Eren! Come help me with the groceries!” Mom called from upstairs.

I ignored her and kept kissing him, subconsciously rolling my hips into him causing him to moan.

“EREN!”

I leaned away from Levi and sighed. “Fuck my life…”

Levi chuckled and left a small kiss on my neck. “Your mom is leaving for the gym and your dad is working overtime. We’ll just have to get by your sister to get to our date. If I can’t leave here, then plan B is for me to make food here and we come down here with the TV and watch movies.”

“Hmmm…Either sounds nice. What are we doing on our date?”

“We-”

“Eren Yeager! Get up here now!”

“Hold that thought?”

Levi chuckled and kissed me again, “looks like I’m going to have to.”

I nodded and ran upstairs and looked at my mom. “Sorry, I had headphones in.”

She huffed and shook her head, “You’re impossible, Eren. I got everything now.”

“Sorry, mom.” I went about and put away the groceries, “Have fun at the gym.”

“How did you know I was going to the gym?” She looked at me confused and tilted her head.

“Levi told me.”

“Oh! I forgot he had asked.” She chuckled and smiled, “But, yeah, it’s a swimming class so it should be fun. What are you three going to do while I’m away?”

“Well, me and Levi were thinking about going to a bookstore or something.” I said not wanting mom to come home and find us still on our date. “If that’s okay?”

“Yeah, of course. But, dear, don’t get attached. We’re going to take him to the police soon.”

“Mom… Seriously… I think it’s best we just let him handle it…” I said looking down, “He ran away for a reason.”

“What’s that reason?”

“…His dad is abusive, mom…” I whispered looking down. “Can we just let it go?”

“Eren, he should be punished then. What if there’s another kid in the situation?”

“Levi is an only child. Besides, he’s old enough to make his own decisions. I think we should just let him stay here as long as he helps out and stuff…”

She sighed and nodded, “Okay… He does help out with chores while you’re away at school.”

“See? He’s even a better son than me.” I chuckled, but she just shook her head and grabbed her bag.

“Eren, you will be my one and only son.” She kissed my forehead before walking to the front door. “Are you sure you don’t need me to make you guys’ dinner?”

“No, we’re okay. I’m a teenager. I’ll eat pizza rolls off the floor if I had to.”

She gave me a look as if I had just cursed the heavenly God or something.

“I said if we had to! Levi is making dinner I think.”

“If you need anything call.” With a nod from me, she finally left.

I jumped when Levi hugged me from behind, hands gripping my belt, toying at it. “Levi!” 

“Shhh, your sister is upstairs listening to music and playing a game.” He smirked against my neck.

“…T-Then… don’t sneak up on me and just…” I closed my eyes and bit my lip, leaning back so my head was on his shoulder. “…stop…”

His hands left me immediately and he kissed my neck in apology. “Sorry.”

“It’s alright.” I turned to him and kissed him. “Did you like fly through the floor or something? I didn’t hear my stairs.”

“Yeah. I also just flew up to check on your sister. Leave her a note and then we can leave.”

I nodded and left a note before walking out with him. I got in Mikasa’s car and looked over at Levi, who backed out and got on the road.

“Well… guess we found out you can leave.” I chuckled bringing my hand to rest on his knee.

“Yeah, I’m glad about that.” He sighed and looked at me and smiled, “Probably because you’re wearing the necklace.”

I put my free hand over it and smiled, nodding. “Yeah… I’m glad you can drive too.” I was glad because we could leave this town and no one would even question Levi. I was glad because we were going on a date. And I was glad because… my heart was racing and I feel like this is what it’s like to be (dare I say it?) in love. I leaned up and kissed his cheek.

“Yeah, or dates with you would be a lot harder to plan since your family doesn’t have a set schedule or anything.” Levi chuckled and continued to drive us to the movie theater.

When we got there I bought the tickets and both of us candy and a soda before finding the theater. We got seats in the middle. Levi put the arm up and I instantly cuddled into his side when he lifted his arm to hold me. “So, The Purge?”

“Yeah, I feel like you’ll like it. It’s about how for 12 hours or something all crime is legal. It’s supposed to be a really good thriller.” The movie theater we went to showed random popular movies that weren’t necessarily new. I smiled at him and said, “I thought you’d be the type of guy to watch suspenseful movies.”

“I’m actually a fan of cheesy romances, but this is cool too.” Levi admitted, chuckling and kissing my forehead. “It’ll be a good movie to cover your screams.”

I stiffened and looked up at him with wide eyes. “Eh…?”

Levi started laughing and shook his head, “I was joking. I swear.”

I relaxed and elbowed him gently. “Don’t make fun of the virgin.” I rolled my eyes and shook my head.

“Who said they would be screams of pleasure?” Levi chuckled.

I stared at him and shook my head. “You’re being a dick. I know you could kill me if you tried. I trust that you wouldn’t though.”

Levi smiled and held me closer. “Don’t worry, I wouldn’t. I wouldn’t force you to do something you wouldn’t want to do and I wouldn’t do anything that would upset you. I promise.”

I smiled and leaned up, kissing him softly. He made me the happiest person ever. He made me feel things I’ve never felt before. “I love you…”

Levi’s eyes widened, but he only smiled more against my lips, “I know… I can sense your feelings towards me… and the more you love me and the more you obsess over me, the more powerful I get. Not that that’s why I’m here with you. I care about you a lot. Hell, I probably love you. I just wanted you to know in case you noticed any differences in me.”

I nodded and looked down, “How can I trust you’re not just after powers and stuff?”

“You’ll just have to trust me.” Levi said running his hands up and down my arms in a calming manner. And in that moment I honestly did. Hell, I trusted him the moment I picked up his diary. I never felt scared, except for when he dragged me to the attic.

I nodded, but before our conversation could continue the movie started.

When the movie was over, we headed over to a restaurant I’ve never heard of before and got a booth. I sat across from him and smiled as I looked through the menu. I don’t think I’ve stopped smiling since our date began. “I… I really have been enjoying myself.”

Levi looked up and smiled, nodding. “I have to. You’re really sweet and stuff.”

“Really…?” I blushed and ran a hand through my hair. It was time for a haircut. My hair on the back of my head went down to my shoulders and slowly went up to where my bangs rested just below my eyebrows. 

“Yeah.” Levi smiled and reached out to hold my hand. “I really like you, Eren. I hope you know that.”

“I do.” I nodded and decided to get a salad and chicken parmesan with spaghetti. It was the cheapest thing on the menu.

“Want to split a desert? We can get a milkshake or something.”

I hummed and looked at the desert before nodding. “How about this chocolate cake? It comes with ice cream. It looks good.” It was a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and chocolate drizzle with vanilla ice cream and whip cream on the side.

Levi looked at it and nodded, “Yeah, looks good.”

Our waiter came up and I instantly drew my hand back because it was someone I knew. It was that jackass that I ride the bus with and have chemistry with. Would he know Levi?

“Good evening, gent…le…men…” Jean trailed off as he stared at Levi. “…W-What…?”

My eyes widened and I stared at Levi. What would he do…? This was what I was scared of. I was scared someone was going to recognize Levi and he’d have to go away forever. Tears threatened to fall from my eyes. I didn’t want that to happen! I didn’t want him to go! I…

Levi’s eyes turned to a bright gray, almost like they were glowing and looked at Jean saying something I couldn’t understand.

“What can I get you?” Jean asked smiling at us.

Levi ordered for us and Jean walked away. “I put a spell on him so he wouldn’t see me as me.”

“How did you know what I wanted to eat?” I asked rubbing the back of my neck. This was weird, but I was relieved that Levi wasn’t going to have to go away forever or something.

“I can read the mind and feelings of the one I’m closest to emotionally.” Levi explained reaching out to hold my hands again.

“…W…Wouldn’t that be Erwin?” I asked nervously, looking down. I didn’t want to bring him up, but he was a strong part of Levi’s life- his actual life.

“…Erwin… doesn’t like me anymore… that’s why we’re not close emotionally anymore…”

“Oh…” I muttered, still not looking up at him. “I’m sorry…”

“Don’t be. This is for the best. He was the past and we are the future.” He smiled, causing my heart to pound.

“Levi…” I whispered and brought my eyes up to meet his. I was a nervous wreck inside. I wanted to have nothing standing in between us anymore. He gave Erwin up to be with me. I think as long as Levi stays around, and he looks like he has no problems with that, I wouldn't mind staying with him. “I… want to… do stuff with you… after this…”

Levi smiled and nodded. “Yeah, of course.” And the rest of dinner was just filled with silly talk about the movie, but it was nice. This all felt so right.


	12. My Last Words

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scary movies are not accurate. Nothing could have prepared me for this.

Chapter 12

We got home and for a moment I was about to back out, but then his hands were holding mine and leading me down to my room. He pushed me down on the bed and smiled. “Eren, you are the most important person in my life. The only person in my life who believes in me and will always love me.”

I blushed as I stared into those gray eyes that I thought looked like thunderstorms, but on closer inspection they looked like puffy gray clouds. They had the potential to rain, but passed by without letting a drop fall. I smiled and reached a hand out and held his cheek. “Levi… I know I’ll always will. I promise.” 

Levi kissed me and my eyes closed. All I could feel was Levi. All I could think about was Levi. Everything I could ever want was right here.

~Levi~

_10/1/15_

I wanted to start out saying that I love Eren Yeager. So much. I would do anything to save him. After our night together I decided I wanted to write down everything that happened after the investigation of my and my father's murder. Ghosts don't need sleep, so this as good as a time as any.

~~~

I walked into Eren’s house and looked around. This was my house, but yet… his presence was making it not as menacing like how I remembered it. It was warm and safe. “No offense, but this place is creepy as hell," I said, mentally laughing at my own shenanigans. It was only creepy because of the images it caused me to remember. I wanted this. I wanted to be safe and warm. He took me upstairs where his mother was and I felt a sudden need to be held by her. Ever since she walked into this place I knew she was a wonderful mother. Eren didn’t really deserve her. Of course, Eren also didn’t deserve a dick like I got. Eren’s father was intimidating, but I felt he wasn’t a total lost cause. I had observed them the past couple of weeks and found I really enjoyed this family. Even his sister, who scared me when she was here, wasn’t all that bad. 

When I was in the shower, I asked Eren to stay with me. I don’t know why I did. Maybe he made me feel safe? I really liked him and… from his thoughts that I could read he may like me a little too much as well.

And then I remembered the things I’ve done.

_“Levi?” Erwin called out the day after the investigation was over. He walked around the house as if I could actually hear him, which I could, but he didn’t know that. “I just… I’m sorry. I should have done something to prevent this. I wish I had. I hope you forgive me… you’re probably thinking I’m an idiot for coming over here.” I was. “I just… wanted to see you one more time._

_So, I gave him the gift of being able to see me. I grabbed a knife from the kitchen and crept up behind him down in the basement. I stabbed him multiple times before he was on the ground and his spirit in front of me. His eyes widened and he backed up. “W-What… What did you do?!”_

_“Y-You wanted to see me. I…” I looked away because I had let my emotions get the better of me. I wanted Erwin to be able to see me, to hear me, to touch me and do everything we used to do together. That could all happen if he was dead. It could happen now. It was the only way. It happened so quickly I don't even know if I was fully aware of what I was doing. I just wanted him to see me._

_“Levi… You’re an idiot. How could you kill me? Me?!” Erwin pushed past me. “My family is going to be devastated… everyone…”_

_“We can kill them too. We can kill everyone in this town. Then it’ll run like normal. The only reason you knew you were dead is because you saw your body. It’ll be our little secret… Erwin… please… I… I love you. I wanted to make us, us again.” I tried to explain, but I knew he was hurt and I knew I had lost him. “I’m sorry…”_

_Erwin looked at me and sighed. “Alright… Alright… Let’s… do this then.” I knew he would want to. He wouldn’t want his family or anyone to mourn over him. So, we made sure to kill everyone in the area._

~~~

I told Eren my name. He seemed to be tense about it when I told him, but then he gently said he thought I was dead. I admitted I was. I’ll show him my past soon. Sleeping in his bed is so warm and comfy. It’s so much different than my own. His whole room is so much different. The realtors must have repaired it to make it more sell-able. I would. This was a shit place while father was here. 

I’m starting too really like Eren more and more each day. He has cute sides and annoying sides and really hot sides that everyone has, but with Eren it’s different. I want him to be the one who knows everything.

~~~

I gave him a flashback today. It scared the shit out of him from what I could tell, but afterwards he didn’t see me differently. He saw me for who I was not what I did. He’s really understanding and I admire that.

~~~

We shared a kiss.

And you know what? Even though I write in this at night I have a feeling that just like Erwin he would never ask about what I’m writing about or try to read it despite having read the rest. This will be my final entry.

I had made this town to where anyone coming in would assume everyone here was alive. They’d fit in. That is why Eren could see everyone. Erwin had wanted that. We had created this place for us even though ‘us’ didn’t exist. Eren’s family fit in well around here. I wanted Eren to see me though. That was the cost of the living to see the dead, I had to be the typical spirit.

Eren’s obsession is what made me powerful. It made me want him all to myself. He wanted to know me, so badly. It was the death of him. I feel bad. Of course I feel bad. I do care about him very much. Hell… I love him very much. But it had to be done. We’d never be close as long as he was alive and I was dead. So… I did what I had to do. It wasn’t hard. I was used to it by now. Go in, kill them, and burn the bodies before the spirit was aware of it. Eren’s family was the easiest thus far.

_I followed them to Erwin’s house and stood in the corner away from everyone there. Sometime during the dinner Erwin made eye contact with me and excused himself to go to the bathroom while Eren talked to his parents about me, about us. I followed Erwin to the bathroom and he shook his head._

_“Don’t do it. They’re nice people. They don’t de-”_

_“Erwin, they’ll find out eventually. I’m growing more and more powerful with each question Eren asks. This will be the last. I just know it.” The last owners moved before I could even do anything about them. Eren’s family, though, I felt like were going to stay._

_“…Okay… After dinner?”_

_“Yeah.”_

~~~

_Erwin asked his parents to help him clean up dinner in the kitchen while the Yeager’s collected their coats. I had already grabbed the knife from the kitchen. They walked out to their car (thank god it was dark) and that’s when I stabbed Eren’s parents, each once in the stomach and then Eren in heart. They wouldn’t remember this. Erwin came out a couple minutes later and we dragged the bodies out back into the woods where I started a fire and burned them. It wasn’t a hard process._

_When I got back home, Eren was already asleep in his bed. I walked up to check on his parents and that’s when I slipped down the steps and let out a scream. I quickly hid when I heard Eren run upstairs. After that he slept in Mikasa’s room. He was cute. I covered them both up before planning my entrance._

~~~

I hope that one day I'll be able to tell Eren everything, but for now this will be my last entry. I don't want to think about these things anymore. I found Eren and that's all I need. The rest of the world can be damned. We'll just stay in our little town that I built on my own. It can just be me and him for eternity. Doesn't sound too bad, right?

-L

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to thank every who supported me and read this! It was fun writing this and I hope everyone enjoyed the ride as well. I would write a better note, but I'm tired and have school tomorrow, so I best be going to bed. I will try to reply to anyone who comments like usual though. Again, thank you!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! This has been my newest fanfic that I am just dying to see everyone's reaction on. I'm trying not to make it too cliche. Also, I don't normally write this type of fanfic so if the scary events aren't scary enough I'm sorry. I'll try my best to work on it. Also, I actually edit this! So there shouldn't be too many mistakes, but if there is tell me and I'll fix them. :) Thanks for the support, I'll try to get chapters out consistently.


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